-  i  -  ■  fffi 


<^  PRINCETOTSr.    TsT.    J.  <ff 


BX  5133  .W6x 

WilberforcG,   Robert  Isaac, 

1802-1857 . 
Sermons  on  the  new  birth  of 
  man's  nature 


/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/sermonsonnewbirtOOwilb 


I 


SEEMOXS. 


SERMONS 


OX  THE 


NEW  BIRTH  OF  MAN'S  NATURE. 


BY 

ROBERT  ISAAC  WILBERFORCE,  A.M. 

AECHDEACOX  0?  TH£  EAST  ETDI^G. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
H.  HOOKER,  CORNER  OF  CHESTNUT  AND  EIGHTH  STS. 

1850. 


KING  &  BAIKD,  PRINTERS,  PHILADELPHIA. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 
The  Mystery  of  Humanity, 

SEEMON  II. 
The  Sanctification  op  Humanity, 

SERMON  III. 
The  Re-Creation  of  Man, 

SERMON  IV. 
Advent,  

SERMON  Y. 
The  Great  Example,  .      .  . 


6 


CONTENTS. 


SEKMON  VI. 

The  Gospel  a  Reality,  71 

SEEMON  VII. 

The  Woman  of  Samaria,  81 

SERMON  VIII. 

Christmas,  89 

SERMON  IX. 

The  Exaltation  of  Nature,  :  101 

SERMON  X. 

Lent,   109 

SERMON  XI. 

Religious  Declension  [Preached  in  Lent],.         .       .       .  121 
SERMON  XIL 

Palm  Sunda       .  ^  133 

SERxMON  XIII. 

Good  Friday,  141 

^          ^RMON  XIV. 
Easter,  152 

SERMON  XV. 

Christ's  Resurrection  Man's  Reconciliation,        .       .  161 


CONTENTS.  7 

SERMON  XYI. 

Page 

God  the  Source  of  Kxo"^ledge  [ Ascension-Da y],      .  .171 

SERMOX  XYII. 
Christ  the  Channel  of  Grace  [Whitsunday],  .       .  .183 

SERMOX  XYm. 
The  Gospel  Ministry,  194 

SERMOX  XIX. 

The  Sacramental  System,  204 

SERMOX  XX. 

Church  Union,  221 

SERMOX  XXI. 

The  Privilege  of  "Worship  Restored,  ,    .       ...  231 

SERMOX  XXU. 
The  Mediation  of  Christ,  243 

SERMOX  XXIII. 
Old  and  New  Reason,      ....  .       .  256 

SERMOX  XXIY. 
Predestination,  276 


SERMOX  1. 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


1  Corinthians,  xi.  7. 
"  Man  is  the  image  and  glory  of  God.'' 

No  object  in  the  Universe  presents  greater  diversities, 
nor  is  there  any  respecting  which  assertions  more  con- 
tradictory can  be  made,  than  man.  His  strength  and 
weakness,  his  glory  and  vileness,  his  wisdom  and  folly, 
have  been  the  familiar  topics  of  his  own  observation, 
and  have  not  been  passed  unnoticed  by  the  Divine 
Word.  Look  at  him  as  he  came  from  his  Maker's 
hand,  and  how  wonderful  was  his  nature.  God's  last 
and  greatest  work,  designed  to  bear  rule  in  this  inferior 
creation,  the  very  image  and  glory  of  God,  on  whom 
the  name  of  tJie  Creature  is  bestowed  in  Holy  Writ  as 
indicating  His  mastery  over  the  surrounding  world. 
But  look  at  him  as  he  is  at  present,  and  we  see  him 
subject  to  sickness,  pain,  and  death ;  the  sport  of  those 
powers,  over  which  he  was  intended  to  bear  sway,  and 
which  he  imagines  himself  able  to  direct.  "  Man  is  but 
a  thing  of  naught,  his  time  passeth  away  like  a  sha- 
dow." Let  us  meditate  somewhat  on  this  contrast  of 
power  and  weakness,  and  it  will  lead  us  to  the  further 

thought,  wherein  is  man's  true  glory,  and  how  liis  ori- 

2 


10 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


ginal  purpose  of  setting  forth  his  Maker  s  image,  may 
again  be  exhibited  in  the  world. 

Now  man's  weakness  may  be  seen  if  we  look  at  him 
as  an  individual,  or  if  we  look  at  him  as  a  race.  His 
individual  weakness  is  shown  by  the  contrast  between 
his  doings  and  himself  For  "wise  men  also  die  and 
perish  together  as  well  as  the  ignorant  and  foolish,  and 
leave  their  riches  for  others."  What  can  be  a  greater 
mockery  of  mortal  attempts  ?  The  Pyramids  have  sur- 
vived from  the  earhest  ages,  but  the  very  dust  of  their 
founders  has  been  scattered  to  the  winds.  Or  if  we 
turn  from  individuals  to  the  race  at  large,  whatever 
profit  man's  intellect  has  derived  from  the  accumulated 
experience  of  ages,  not  less  rapid  and  resistless  is  the 
increase  of  misery  and  sin.  Even  in  so  favoured  a 
country  as  that  which  we  inhabit,  how  fearful  is  the 
swelling  of  that  augmenting  tide  of  life,  which  often 
threatens  to  carry  all  before  it.  How  wide  a  chasm 
gapes  between  wealth  and  poverty ;  how  deep  the  anti- 
pathy between  necessity  and  abundance,  which  is  thinly 
covered  over  by  the  solemn  plausibilities  of  life.  How 
vain  the  expedients  by  which  theorists  attempt  to  give 
all  an  equal  interest  in  the  preservation  of  public  order, 
and  thus  to  secure  wealth  against  the  impatience  of 
want.  For  the  accumulation  of  riches,  and  the  in- 
crease of  inventions  produce  no  real  augmentation  in 
the  happiness  of  mankind.  Love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 
fering, meekness,  gentleness — these  do  not  grow  as 
society  advances,  and  learning  is  increased.  Rather 
do  these  graces  adorn  a  simpler  age  of  society,  and  a 
ruder  state.  The  progress  of  society  goes  on  heaping 
up  a  mass  of  misery,  which  no  charity  is  able  to  pene- 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


11 


trate  and  dissolve.  And  its  worst  feature  is,  that  guilt 
assumes  a  more  malignant  intensity,  as  it  ferments 
amidst  the  putrid  mass  of  a  corrupt  community,  so  that 
the  necessary  evils  of  man's  lot  are  increased  tenfold 
by  his  voluntary  sins.  For  every  one  of  those  throng- 
ing multitudes,  for  whom  art  and  commerce  afford  sus- 
tenance and  employment,  is  the  reproduction  of  that 
ancient  type  of  fallen  humanity,  on  which  all  the 
children  of  Adam  have  successively  been  built.  Each 
goes  on,  therefore,  to  add  something  to  that  mass  of 
crime  which  forms  the  connatural  inheritance  of  his 
race.  He  was  born^in  fallen  Adam's  image,  how  can 
he  escape  it  ?  How  can  he  get  beyond  that  limit  of  his 
being,  which  his  first  forefather  has  fixed  ?  In  every 
race  of  animals  there  are  modifications,  but  the  normal 
type  of  the  class  cannot  be  overspread.  Adam  must 
still  reproduce  himself  in  those  who  are  born  his  chil- 
dren. And  thus,  notwithstanding  all  the  varied  con- 
trivances of  skill  and  artifice,  is  there  a  perpetual 
propagation  of  misery  and  guilt.  So  that  we  may  still 
say  with  Pascal,  "  What  a  chimera  is  man  !  What  a 
monster,  what  a  chaos,  what  a  contradiction,  what  a* 
prodigy !  Judge  of  all  things,  yet  a  helpless  worm  of 
the  earth — endowed  with  all  truth,  yet  the  very  sink 
of  uncertainty  and  error — the  pride  and  refuse  of  the 
Universe." 

Now,  if  man's  weakness  be  that  he  inherits  the  cor- 
rupt nature  of  his  fallen  parent,  the  strength  of  huma- 
nity must  be  looked  for  in  some  quarter  which  this 
far-reaching  pollution  has  been  unable  to  affect.  And 
where  shall  this  be  found  ?  In  man  natural  it  cannot 
be  found  anywhere.    One  man  there  has  been,  how- 


12 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMAXITY. 


ever,  in  whom  were  gifts  above  nature.  "What  is 
man;'  asks  the  Psalmist,  "that  Thou  art  mindful  of 
him,  or  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ?  Thou 
madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  Thou  crown- 
est  him  with  glory  and  honour.  Thou  hast  put  all 
things  in  subjection  under  his  feet."  "  But  now  we  see 
not  yet  all  things  put  under  him;  but  we  see  Jesus,  who 
was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  for  the  suffer- 
ing of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour,  that  He 
by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for  every  man." 
In  this  perfect  example  of  the  human  family,  in  this 
Pattern  Man,  through  whom  the  purpose  of  man's 
being  was  completely  exhibited,  in  whom  first  of  the 
children  of  Adam,  the  Father  was  well  pleased,  do  we 
see  humanity  invested  with  all  that  strength  and  glory 
which  was  its  intended  portion  and  original  right.  How 
did  these  things  pertain  to  it  ?  Because  in  the  Person 
of  that  Great  Head  of  our  race  there  entered  into 
Adam's  line  the  very  Being  in  whose  image  Adam  had 
at  first  been  made ;  and  thus  was  man's  original  form 
remodelled  through  the  presence  of  his  Maker.  From 
that  infinite  source  of  self-existent  Godhead,  the  cause 
and  principle  of  all  things,  there  issued  the  Eternal  Son, 
and  without  ceasing  to  be  one  with  the  Father,  to  whom 
by  the  law  of  His  being  He  is  indissolubly  united.  He 
entered  into  Adam's  line.  He  took  flesh  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  His  Mother,  and  to  the  perfection  of  His  divine, 
added  the  completeness  of  human  being.  "  When  the 
fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  made 
of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  that  we  might  receive 
the  adoption  of  sons."  In  His  Person,  therefore,  did 
those  gifts  of  grace  and  glory,  which  had  been  originally 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


13 


bestowed  upon  the  family  of  man,  attain  their  full  per- 
fection. The  traces,  which  had  faintly  indicated  their 
presence,  had  hitherto  but  mocked  the  vileness  of  that 
being  by  whom  these  glorious  ornaments  had  been  lost. 
But  they  now  shone  forth  again  in  their  proper  lustre, 
because  the  image  of  God  was  perfectly  restored  through 
the  union  between  humanity  and  Himself.  For  the 
eternal  Son,  who  was  by  nature  God's  true  and  perfect 
image,  in  whom  the  Father's  perfections  were  completely 
reflected,  who  was  the  full  and  entire  participator  of 
them  all,  had,  by  taking  man's  being,  rendered  it  also 
the  reflection  and  earthly  image  of  God. 

So  that  in  His  Person  alone  has  the  text  its  perfect 
fulfilment ;  in  Christ  is  man  truly  and  completely  the 
image  and  glory  of  God.  "  God,"  says  an  ancient  writer, 
"  becoming  a  righteous  man,  interceded  with  God  for 
man  who  was  unrighteous."  In  Him,  as  the  Head  and 
Pattern  of  the  human  family,  its  whole  kindred  has 
been  advanced.  He  has  come  into  it,  as  some  adopted 
member  of  a  nobler  hneage,  in  whom  the  whole  stock 
of  an  inferior  progeny  has  been  advanced.  But  then 
His  union  with  those  whose  nature  He  has  taken  must 
be  real,  and  not  imaginary ;  actual,  and  not  pretended 
— in  order  that  they  too  may  share  the  blessings  which 
He  has  introduced.  He  did  not  take  our  nature  that 
by  the  mere  external  show  and  fictitious  supposition  of 
resemblance.  He  might  increase  the  misery  of  our  actual 
defects.  His  object  was  to  effect  such  real  union  be- 
tween Himself  and  His  brethren,  that  the  Apostle  could 
declare  that  "  as  He  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world."  If 
He,  when  He  took  man's  nature,  was  "  the  first-born 
of  every  creature,"  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 


14 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


God,"  His  purpose  was  that  we  might  be  made  par- 
takers of  the  Divine  nature,  "  having  escaped  the  cor- 
ruption which  is  in  the  world  through  lust."  This  is 
the  effect  of  putting  "  on  the  new  man,  which  is  re- 
newed in  knowledge  after  the  image  of  Him  that  cre- 
ated him."  The  words  imply,  not  merely  that  He  must 
take  our  human  nature,  but  that  we  too  must  take  His. 
All  renewed  men  have  given  up  humanity  to  Him,  to 
bear  it  as  their  Head  and  Chief,  that  they  may  take  it 
back  again  of  Him,  in  that  purified  and  exalted  form 
which  He  conferred  upon  it. 

Now  the  nature  of  that  union  whereby  we  must  be 
engrafted  into  the  humanity  of  the  second  Adam,  is  as 
mysterious  as  that  whereby  we  inherit  the  qualities  of 
the  first.  As  we  know  not  how  the  old  Adam  is  repro- 
duced in  each  of  his  descendants,  why  his  properties  of 
body  and  mind  reappear  in  them,  why  lust,  and  anger, 
and  selfishness  are  found  on  every  soil  and  under  every 
sky,  because  these  are  the  characteristics  which,  after 
his  fall,  pertained  to  that  ancient  type  in  which  man 
had  been  originally  formed,  so  neither  can  we  under- 
stand the  manner  of  that  influence  whereby  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  mercifully  fashions  the  brethren  of  the  new 
Adam  into  the  blessed  image  of  their  Head.  "  For  we 
all,  reflecting  like  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are 
changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even 
as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  But  though  the  manner 
of  this  renewal  is  secret,  yet  so  much  is  revealed,  that 
as  its  principle  is  to  join  Adam's  children  to  that  new 
and  purified  example  of  humanity,  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus,  so  the  instrument  which  God's  wisdom  has  been 
pleased  to  adopt,  is  the  system  of  Sacraments.  The 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


15 


object  is  that  Christ's  manhood,  like  that  of  the  first 
Adam,  should  be  the  quickening  seed  of  His  earthly 
brethren.  Therefore  did  God  pre-appoint  men  "  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  that  He  might  be 
the  first-born  among  many  brethren."  "For  as  we 
have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly.  The  first  man  Adam  was 
made  a  living  soul,  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quick- 
enmg  Spirit."  And  the  very  purpose  both  of  Baptism 
and  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  is,  that  the  sanctified  hu- 
manity of  the  Son  of  Man  may  penetrate  and  leaven 
the  defiled  humanity  of  His  brethren. 

This  is  a  divine  work,  and  can  only  be  brought  about 
by  divme  means.  But  it  is  a  real  work,  which  must 
truly  be  efiected,  if  we  would  profit  by  that  sacrifice 
which  the  great  Head  of  our  being  offered  for  our  re- 
demption, and  by  that  gift  which  He  bestows  for 
the  renewal  of  our  souls.  For  we  are  members  of 
His  body,"  says  St.  Paul,  "of  His  flesh,  and  of  His 
bones.  This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak  concern- 
ing Christ  and  the  Church."  Now  this  oneness  with 
Christ,  this  living  through  His  present  influence — our 
Lord  sets  forth  as  the  result  of  that  holy  ordinance  of 
the  Eucharist,  whereby  is  consummated  that  union 
which  in  Baptism  is  commenced — "  Except  ye  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have 
no  life  in  you.  Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh 
my  blood  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at 
the  last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my 
blood  is  drink."  The  Capharnaites,  to  whom  these 
words  were  spoken,  supposed  that  our  Lord's  sacred 
body  w^as  to  be  broken  into  morsels,  and  eaten  as  ma- 


16 


THE   MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


terial  food  by  men.  And  the  same  error  does  our  Cliurcli 
deny  under  the  title  of  transubstantiation.  But  that 
which  Christ  designed  was  such  real  participation  of 
His  sanctified  humanity,  that  we  may  be  as  truly  bound 
to  the  new,  as  by  nature  we  were  to  the  first  Adam. 
And  this  is  to  be  brought  about,  not  by  the  carnal  de- 
vouring of  His  material  flesh,  but  by  sacramental  par- 
ticipation of  His  ascended  humanity.  Thus  is  He  in 
us,  and  we  in  Him — He  the  real  seed  of  life,  the  quick- 
ening principle  of  a  new  nature,  who  has  first  taken 
our  common  being  that  He  might  die  for  our  sins,  and 
then  gives  it  us  back  sanctified  in  Himself. 

And  now,  then,  we  may  see,  in  conclusion,  how  the 
weakness  of  man  may  be  reconciled  with  his  strength. 
In  himself,  as  heir  of  his  fallen  parent,  as  representing 
the  first  Adam,  his  weakness  is  incurable,  his  depravity 
unredeemed.  But  look  at  him  as  humanity  has  been 
renewed  in  Christ,  and  those  great  things,  which  were 
originally  designed  to  be  his  birthright,  are  again  re- 
stored. "  For  the  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy ;  the 
second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven."  Well,  then,  may 
man  be  the  image  and  glory  of  God,  since  He  who  is 
God  himself,  has  condescended  to  take  the  burden  of 
humanity  upon  Him.  And  this  shows  as  well  the  in- 
ward life  which  may  be  expected  of  Christians,  as  the 
outward  objects  which  deserve  their  consideration. 
Their  inward  life  is  not  to  be  fashioned  merely  on  the 
rule  of  a  decorous  morality ;  it  is  not  enou  h  for  them 
to  be  decent,  peaceful,  orderly,  inofiensive ;  their  birth- 
right is,  that  they  are  "  partakers  of  the  divine  nature, 
having  escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world 
through  lust."    With  such  exceeding  great  and  pre- 


THE   MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


17 


cious  promises,  what  may  not  be  expected  even  from 
the  children  of  a  fallen  sire !  The  Christian  graces, 
therefore,  the  affections  and  desires  of  the  new  man, 
which  were  perfectly  exhibited  in  the  great  Head  of 
our  race,  should  in  like  manner  be  manifest  in  all  His 
brethren.  "Be  renewed,"  says  the  Apostle,  "in  the 
spirit  of  your  mind.  And  put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness." 

Not  only  those  deadly  sins  which  shut  men  out  from 
grace,  and  against  which,  therefore,  we  pray  continu- 
ally in  the  Litany,  but  even  those  sins  of  infirmity, 
which  cleave  so  closely  to  fallen  man,  should  be  per- 
petually mortified.  The  habit  of  supposing  such  sins 
irresistible,  the  contented  subjection  to  irritability, 
covetousiiess,  worldly-mindedness,  distracting  thoughts 
in  prayer — all  these  things  are  inconsistent  with  that 
complete  renewal  of  man's  nature,  which  should  be  the 
daily  work  of  those  in  whom  Christ  is  being  formed 
anew.  Let  us  first  form  an  high  estimate  of  that  actual 
gift  which  is  bestowed  through  Sacramental  union  with 
the  Lord's  body,  and  we  shall  more  deeply  appreciate 
that  change  of  life,  which  may  be  expected  from  our- 
selves. To  be  much  in  prayer,  to  commune  with  God 
publicly  and  in  private,  to  hold  intercourse  with  Him 
through  His  word — these  will  be  natural  consequences 
of  appreciating  that  great  change  which  he  has  effected 
in  humanity  at  large,  by  the  taking  it  into  God. 

And  this  may  remind  us,  likewise,  what  pubhc  ser- 
vices are  most  worthy  of  man's  thought,  and  correspond 
most  truly  with  the  nobility  of  His  being.  Men  are 
wont  to  esteem  highly  the  founders  of  states,  and  the 


18 


THE   MYSTERY  OF  HUMANITY. 


benefactors  of  their  kind.  But  the  institutions  of  men, 
and  the  schemes  of  beneficence,  are  at  best  but  transi- 
tory. They  are  more  honourable,  doubtless,  than  that 
which  looks  to  private  ends,  or  is  limited  to  individual 
advantage.  But  would  men  aim  at  that  which  has  re- 
lation to  the  highest  ends  of  life,  and  set  forth  its  noblest 
distinction,  let  them  see  what  the  true  Pattern  of  man's 
race,  the  real  image  and  glory  of  God,  thinks  worthy  of 
attention.  This  it  is  which  gives  so  much  dignity  to 
the  office  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  so  much  im- 
portance to  all  its  accessories.  For  it  is  the  discharge 
of  that  office  on  earth  and  among  men,  which  the  Great 
Head  of  humanity  is  perpetually  discharging  at  His 
Father's  right  hand,  in  the  heaven  of  heavens.  And 
this,  too,  gives  its  moment  to  that  common  worship,  in 
which  it  is  your  office,  as  Christian  laymen,  to  join. 
The  collective  supplication  of  all  Christian  people  is 
their  continual  means  of  approach  to  the  throne  of  God. 
He  who  has  taken  our  nature  is,  at  such  seasons,  pre- 
sent among  them.  And  therefore  should  all  the  ex- 
ternal circumstances  of  worship  correspond  to  that 
highest  function,  wherein  mortals  can  be  engaged. 

For  man's  most  enduring  honour  is  to  bear  part  in 
those  sacred  ends,  for  which  the  One  Perfect  Image  of 
God  sacrificed  His  life.  The  ends  of  private  magnifi- 
cence, even  the  works  of  public  liberality,  are  a  kind  of 
mockery  of  those  who  raise  them.  They  last,  but  their 
builders  pass  away.  Other  generations  will  inhabit  the 
palaces  which  this  has  builded :  its  senate-houses  will 
be  the  arena  where  another  race  will  urge  on  the  petty 
contentions  of  their  transitory  day.  Those  whose  toil 
has  reared  them,  they  will  profit  no  longer.    But  the 


THE   MYSTERY  OE  HUMANITY. 


19 


prayers  which  shall  ascend  from  ever}'  fresh  house  of 
God — they  will  blend,  doubtless,  with  those  aspirations 
which  Christ's  unembodied  servants  will  forever  offer ; 
seeing-  that  throucrh  the  communion  of  saints  the  whole 
family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  united  together.  Thus 
may  man's  works  gain  a  dignity  which  this  world  can- 
not give,  and  a  durability  which  it  cannot  take  away. 
Those  who  are  bound  together  in  Christ,  have  part 
abeady  in  that  house  not  made  with  hands,  which  is 
eternal  in  the  heavens.  To  them  even  this  world's  ob- 
jects are  ennobled,  and  especially  those  members  of 
their  Lord,  who  have  part  in  His  glory.  Beloved, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God.  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall 
appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is. 


SERMOX  11. 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


St.  John,  xvii.  19. 

F^r  their  sahes  I  sanctify  myself ,  that  they  also  might  he  sanctified 
through  the  truth." 

Some  passages  of  Holy  Writ  stand  out  with  peculiar 
prominence,  even  in  its  sacred  volume.  Such  is  that 
declaration  in  Isaiah's  prophecy,  in  which  the  mediato- 
rial character  of  Our  Lord's  offering  is  set  forth.  Other 
parts  of  the  Old  Testament  lead  us  to  this  truth :  the 
fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  alone  asserts  it.  In  like 
manner  may  we  refer  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  as  con- 
taining the  only  full  declaration  of  those  great  truths 
respecting  Our  Lord's  nature  and  ofiices,  to  which  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  make  perpetual  allusion.  That 
Christ  is  forever  with  the  people  of  His  love,  that  the 
ordinances  of  His  grace  are  an  actual  engrafting  into 
Himself,  that  by  Church  union  we  mean  not  the  com- 
pacting of  an  external  framework,  but  the  real  diffusion 
of  a  spiritual  presence — all  these  leading  truths  of  the 
Gospel  it  was  reserved  for  the  last  survivor  of  the  Apos- 
tles, to  set  forth  with  such  fulness  as  might  render  them 
a  light  to  the  Church  even  to  the  end  of  time.  Hence 
the  explanation  of  the  spiritual  effects  of  Baptism  in 


22 


THE  SAXCTIFICATIOX  OF  HUMANITY. 


his  third,  and  of  the  inward  benefits  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion in  his  sixth  chapter. 

But  none  of  these  passages  come  up  in  interest  to 
that  which  suppUes  our  text.  In  other  places  Our  Lord 
speaks  to  man,  in  this  does  He  address  Himself  to  God. 
In  these  wonderful  verses  we  have  His  own  summary 
of  the  purposes  which  he  designed  to  effect  for  the 
people  of  His  love.  He  speaks  as  the  Church's  head, 
as  our  intercessor,  He  explains  more  at  length  that 
which  on  Calvary  He  was  to  perfect  and  perform,  we 
have  the  Church's  charter  from  His  lips  who  created  it, 
we  have  the  nature  of  those  gifts  which  he  left  to  man. 
This  chapter,  therefore,  turns  upon  the  greatness  of  that 
privilege,  which  was  bestowed  upon  man's  nature 
through  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  upon 
the  reality  of  that  consequent  union  with  Himself,  which 
He  bestows  upon  His  brethren  the  sons  of  Adam, 
through  the  Sacramental  ordinances  of  His  grace. 

A  subject  surely  as  deep  as  it  is  glorious.  For  it  is 
built  on  that  which  was  truly  the  labour  of  a  God. 
"For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  Myself,  that  they  might 
also  be  sanctified  through,  or  by  the  truth."  The  points 
here  set  forth  are,  first,  that  Our  Lord's  human  nature 
was  to  be  sanctified ;  and  secondly,  that  the  end  of  His 
work  was  the  sanctification  of  ours.  Let  us  take  these 
things  in  order.  In  order  that  Our  Lord's  Manhood 
might  become  the  sanctifying  principle  of  the  Church, 
it  was  needful  that  itself  must  first  be  sanctified.  "For 
their  sakes  I  sanctify  mj'self "  Plain  it  is  that  of  His 
Humanify  Our  Lord  here  speaks.  He  was  God  as  well 
as  man ;  with  the  perfectness  of  both  natures  their  ac- 
tual union  interfered  not.  But  it  was  His  human  nature 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


23 


only  which  could  be  sanctified.  The  Godhead  admits 
not  of  further  purity ;  it  is  purity  itself  It  is  light 
from  light :  the  truth  itself  which  cannot  be  obscured. 
Therefore  that  which  was  sanctified  was  that  human 
nature,  which,  though  pure,  was  yet  capable  of  greater 
perfection.  For  there  flowed  into  it  those  unspeakable 
gifts  of  grace  and  glory,  which  it  derived  from  its  super- 
natural union  with  the  Deity  of  Christ.  From  the  first 
it  had  been  free  from  sin  by  virtue  of  that  presence  of 
Godhead,  by  which  the  imperfectness  of  our  nature  was 
corrected.  For  to  Christ  alone  are  the  words  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom  applicable — "being  good  I  came  into 
a  body  undefiled." 

Now  this  human  being,  which  the  Son  of  God  asso- 
ciated to  His  own  in  the  Virgin's  womb — this  "perfect 
man,  of  a  reasonable  soul  and  human  flesh  subsisting" 
— was  the  subject  of  that  wonderful  discipline,  whereby 
through  the  sufferings  of  His  worldly  life,  was  perfected 
the  Incarnate  nature  of  the  Son  of  God.  "  For  it  be- 
came Him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are 
all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory  to  make 
the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect  through  suffer- 
ings." And  this  task  was  now  accomplished;  the  hour 
was  come :  "  I  have  finished,"  He  says,  "  the  work 
which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do." 

And  this  leads  us  to  the  second  point  which  the  text 
declares,  the  end,  i.  e.  of  this  stupendous  example  of 
humiliation  and  love.  It  is  expressly  stated  to  have 
reference  to  ourselves.  "For  their  sakes  I  sanctify 
Myself  that  they  might  also  j^e  sanctified  by  the  truth." 
And  so  says  St.  Paul,  that  "  Christ  is  of  God  made  unto 
tts  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanctification  and  re- 


24 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


demption."  He  is  made  unto  us  redemption.  For  He 
it  is  who  hath  "  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  His 
cross."  In  His  own  words,  He  gave  "  His  Ufe  a  ransom 
instead  of  many." 

On  this  topic  do  the  Apostles  dwell  at  large.  They 
prove  to  the  Jew,  whose  confidence  was  in  the  merit  of 
his  ceremonial  rites,  and  to  the  philosopher  whose  hope 
rested  in  his  moral  uprightness,  that  "  there  is  none 
other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby 
we  must  be  saved."  For  the  first  step  towards  man's 
recovery  was  to  bring  him  back  from  his  lost  estate,  and 
therefore,  says  the  Apostle,  Christ  is  "  set  forth  to  be  a 
propitiation  through  faith  in  His  blood — for  the  remission 
of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God." 
And  this  is  declared  to  have  been  an  especial  object, 
as  well  as  of  His  Incarnation  as  of  his  life  of  trial ;  "  we 
see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels 
for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and 
honour,  that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death 
for  every  man." 

But  this  is  not  all.  For  St.  Paul  tells  us,  that  He  is 
made  unto  us  not  redemption  but  sanctification  also. 
And  the  text  teaches  us  how  this  likewise  is  attained. 
There  is  a  further  meaning  and  significance  in  His  satis- 
faction for  sin,  when  it  is  discerned  not  to  be  a  bare 
technical  fulfilling  of  certain  arbitrary  requirements  of 
judicial  exactness,  but  to  have  a  direct  connexion  with 
the  future  estate  of  those  whom  He  has  thus  redeemed, 
to  be  a  step  in  the  great  work  of  bringing  many  sons 
unto  salvation.  "  For  their  sakes,"  then.  He  says,  "  I 
sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified  by 
the  truth."    And  this  sanctifying  truth  the  preceding 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY.  25 


verse  had  declared  to  be  that  Divine  Word  which  was 
Incarnate  in  Himself.  "  Sanctify  them  through  Thy 
truth  :  Thy  Word  is  truth."  For  "the  Word  of  God 
Most  High  is  the  fountain  of  wisdom." 

Now  this  implies  somewhat  further,  consequent  on 
that  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  man,  which  our  Lord 
completed  on  the  altar  of  the  cross.  For  "  it  pleased 
the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all  fulness  dwell ;  and 
having  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  His  cross,  by  Him 
to  reconcile  all  things  unto  Himself"  It  is  this  second 
work,  then — this  result  of  His  sufferings,  which  Our 
Lord  declares  in  the  text  to  be  effected  through  the 
sanctifying  of  His  Human  Being.  His  purified  hu- 
manity is  set  forth  as  the  principle,  whereby  the  re- 
newal of  our  defiled  humanity  is  to  be  effected. 

And  on  this  subject  does  He  enlarge  in  the  residue 
of  the  Chapter  before  us.  He  prays  for  all  believers 
"that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou  Father  art  in  Me, 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  all  may  be  one  in  Us."  "I 
in  them  and  Thou  in  Me,  that  they  may  be  made  per- 
fect in  one."  For  "  there  is  one  body  and  one  spirit, 
even  as  ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling."  The 
unity  of  the  Church  arises  not,  as  is  thought  by  worldly 
men,  from  the  accidental  arrangements  of  external  go- 
vernment; it  is  not  built  upon  caprice,  it  is  not  dictated 
by  convenience,  it  is  not  enforced  by  enactment ;  it  is 
the  simple  expression  of  that  organic  law,  whereby  to 
be  joined  to  the  Humanity  of  Christ  Our  Lord,  is  the 
source  of  all  Gospel  graces.  For  since  the  natural  body 
of  Christ  is  one,  one  likewise  must  be  His  Body  Mys- 
tical.   For  all  His  people  "grow  up  into  Him  in  all 

things  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ,  from  whom  the 

3 


26 


THE  SAXCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


whole  body  fitly  joined  together,  maketh  increase  unto 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

And  this  union  with  Christ  is  not  merely  imitative, 
visionary,  metaphorical ;  it  is  not  only  that  we  feel  in 
our  minds  as  though  we  put  ourselves  under  His  guid- 
ance, and  took  part  with  Him ;  but  there  is  a  real  action 
of  Christ's  purified  upon  our  impure  humanity  through 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  is  He  styled  that 
new  Adam,  from  whom  we  have  as  true  descent  as  from 
our  natural  parent.  For  the  first  man  Adam  was 
made  a  living  soul,  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quicken- 
ing spirit." 

This  may  seem  a  deep  subject — beyond  our  reach, 
unfitted  for  our  meditations — but  in  truth  it  is  only  the 
touching  upon  one  of  those  mysteries,  which,  being 
forced  upon  us  by  our  nature,  is  open  to  the  reflection 
of  us  all.  Such  is  our  common  descent  from  our  first 
parent — our  inheriting  corruption :  its  difiusion  through 
our  bodies  and  our  souls.  Do  we  understand  the  cause 
and  manner  of  this  transmission  ?  It  mocks  all  our 
efforts.  The  sage  meditates  on  it  in  vain.  Do  we 
question  its  truth?  Nay,  our  children  prove,  our  cate- 
chism confesses  it.  Now  such  is  the  relation  of  Chris- 
tians to  the  Second  Adam.  It  is  a  true  and  actual 
engrafting  into  the  humanity  of  Christ.  In  all  who  are 
made  members  of  Christ,  as  we  confess  to  be  by  our 
baptism,  is  there  implanted  a  renewed  nature,  as  by 
natural  birth  is  transmitted  fallen  humanity. 

And  this  work  does  the  text  set  forth  as  the  purpose 
of  Our  Lord's  life  of  humiliation.  "  For  their  sakes  I 
sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified  by 
the  truth."    The  Word — that  native  principle  of  divine 


THE   SAXCTIFICATOX  OF  HUMANITY. 


27 


life — first  fashioned  to  itself  a  perfect  medium  of  sancti- 
fj'ing  power  in  its  own  humanity,  that  so  "  we  might 
be  partakers  of  the  divme  nature,  having  escaped  the 
corruption  which  is  in  the  world  through  lust."  Thus 
may  men  recover  that  image  of  God,  in  which  our  first 
parent  was  created.  The  very  purpose  of  the  Gospel 
covenant  was  to  give  it  back.  The  New  Man  was  to 
bestow  in  its  perfection  whatsoever  the  first  Adam  had 
lost.  As  real  as  our  union  with  the  one,  must  be  our 
communion  with  the  other. 

And  this  it  is,  brethren,  which  the  prevalent  unbe- 
lief of  the  present  day  especially  forgets.  Men  who 
would  be  shocked  if  the  reality  of  Our  Lord's  atonement 
were  questioned,  do  not  perceive  that  the  reality  of  our 
union  with  Him  is  just  as  fundamental  a  verity  of  the 
Gospel.  If  the  one  of  these  can  be  got  rid  of  as  a  strong 
expression,  a  metaphor,  a  figure  of  speech,  why  not  the 
other  ?  But  if  Our  Lord,  as  we  know,  truly  died  for  us 
through  His  man's  nature,  why  do  we  doubt  that  we 
are  as  truly  united  to  Him,  as  Scripture  declares,  through 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  Yea,  rather  does  not 
the  one  of  these  doctrines  illustrate  and  enforce  the 
other  ?  The  death  of  Christ  ceases  to  be  a  solitary  fact, 
founded  upon  arbitrary  enactment,  and  it  takes  its  place 
as  part  of  that  mighty  plan  which  bears  a  just  propor- 
tion to  our  Fall  and  our  Creation. 

Now  the  means  whereby  Christ's  human  nature  acts 
upon  ours  is  confessedly  by  Sacraments.  In  these  there 
is  a  sort  of  external  machinery,  there  are  outward  ele- 
ments, there  are  means  which  our  hands  handle,  and 
our  lips  receive,  the  use  whereof  can  be  subjected  to 
man's  laws,  and  made  matter  of  Church  regulation. 


28 


TPIE   SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


And  lience  some  persons  have  lost  sight  of  the  interior 
nature  of  these  blessed  ordinances ;  their  secret  signifi- 
cance, as  the  means  whereby  we  are  united  to  the  In- 
carnate Word,  has  been  forgotten;  their  real  worth  has 
not  been  estimated ;  and  they  have  been  treated  as  a 
mere  outward  sign,  which  it  was  as  safe  to  despise  as 
to  reverence.  What  we  want  then  is,  to  discern  that 
Our  Lord's  humanity  is  the  vital  principle  of  life  in  all 
His  people.  This  truth  once  appreciated,  the  use  and 
importance  of  all  those  means  whereby  we  are  actually 
united  to  Him,  will  at  once  be  manifest.  We  shall  no 
longer  look  upon  the  ordinances  of  His  grace  as  an  arti- 
ficial framework,  which  may  sometimes  further  the 
spiritual  action  of  our  own  minds,  and  sometimes  im- 
pede it,  but  we  shall  recognize  His  nearness  to  us  in 
those  living  means  whereby  He  dispenses  Himself;  and 
what  is  outward  will  be  kindled  into  reality  by  His  in- 
ward presence.  This  is  the  true  work  of  faith ;  of  that 
eye  of  the  soul,  whereby  we  discover  in  things  outward 
what  is  spiritual  and  unseen.  Thus  it  is,  as  the  Apostle 
expresses  it,  that  we  discern  the  Lord's  Body. 

We  speak  not  of  course  of  any  carnal  presence,  nor  as 
though  outward  elements,  such  as  water,  or  bread,  or 
wine,  were  so  far  changed  as  that  they  could  work  ef- 
fects beyond  nature,  but  we  tell  you  of  the  doctrine  of 
grace  as  depending  on  the  sanctification  of  Our  Lord's 
humanity,  and  we  testify  the  blessedness  of  being  united 
to  Him,  who  is  the  Head  of  our  renewed  Being.  The 
gifts  of  grace  w^ere  in  a  degree  bestowed  upon  the  Jew, 
and  possibly  upon  the  Heathen.  But  when  God  be- 
came man,  they  were  poured  out  in  a  common  stream, 
and  in  more  abundant  measure.    This  was  first  given 


THE   SAXCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY.  29 

to  Him  who  might  claim  it  of  right,  that  from  Him  it 
might  be  conveyed  to  us,  who  can  claim  it  only  of 
bounty.  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  should 
all  fulness  dwell."  "  And  of  his  fulness  have  all  we 
received,  and  grace  for  gTace." 

And  now,  brethren,  to  make  one  practical  remark, 
respecting  the  nature  of  that  obedience  which  may  be 
expected  from  Christians.  It  stands  not,  observe,  on 
mere  natural  duty,  on  calculation  or  policy,  it  does  not 
rest  even  on  those  better  feelings  of  the  heart  which 
arise  from  the  recollection  of  past  services — no.  Chris- 
tian obedience  is  the  produce  of  that  real  union  with 
Christ  Our  Lord,  whereby  "  as  He  is,  so  are  we  in  this 
world."  Those  who  truly  possess  it  have  so  reflected 
like  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  that  they  are  "  changed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord."  Its  necessary  condition,  therefore, 
must  be  such  lively  faith  in  the  truth  of  things  unseen, 
as  may  realize  the  gxeatness  of  our  election. 

And  here  how  much  are  we  all  wanting,  how  imper- 
fect our  sense  of  things  di\dne ;  we  do  not  feel  how 
closely  we  are  pressed  upon  by  the  unseen  world  and 
its  abiding  realities.  When  Ave  kneel  in  prayer  to  pre- 
sent our  common  offering,  how  little  do  we  discern  the 
great  High  Priest,  who  by  virtue  of  His  body  which 
was  slain,  is  at  that  moment  pleading  for  us  in  the 
heaven  of  heavens.  How  little  do  we  estimate  the  pe- 
cuhar  efi&cacy  which  is  thus  given  to  our  collective 
prayers !  How  little  do  we  appreciate  the  peculiar  ad- 
vantage which  is  thus  given  to  those  who  are  members 
of  Christ!  How  imperfect,  therofore,  our  gratitude, 
how  cold  our  devotion,  how  feeble  our  love !   How  little 


30 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  HUMANITY. 


do  we  carry  out  with  us  into  the  world  at  large  the 
consciousness  of  our  high  fellowship ! 

Were  it  otherwise,  the  members  of  Christ  could  never 
conform  themselves  as  they  do  to  this  world's  manners. 
Men  would  take  note  of  us,  that  we  had  been  with 
Jesus.  We  should  not  hear  of  covetous,  worldly,  self- 
indulgent,  sensual  Christians.  "  Shall  I  take  the  mem- 
bers of  Christ,"  exclaims  the  fervent  Apostle,  "and 
make  them  the  members  of  an  harlot  ?  God  forbid." 
Surely,  brethren,  there  must  be  a  deep  failing  in  the 
faith  of  the  Christian  world,  or  there  would  not  be  so 
deep  a  degeneracy  in  its  practice.  The  love  of  Christ 
is  not  now-a-days  that  burning  consciousness  of  near- 
ness to  Him,  which  induced  men  to  sacrifice  every 
thing,  and  themselves  first  of  all,  in  the  service  of  the 
Gospel.  That  which  lives  will  have  voice  and  utter- 
ance, and  if  we  are  conscious  of  participation  in  the  one 
glorious  family  of  the  Elect,  we  shall  give  no  dubious 
tokens  of  our  sympathy. 


SERMON  III. 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


II.  Corinthians,  v.  17. 

If  any  man  he  in  Christ,  lie  is  a  new  creature.''^ 

The  text  is  one  of  those  wonderful  sayings,  whereby 
the  Gospel  at  once  meets  the  wants,  and  surpasses  the 
hopes  of  mankind.  For  does  not  every  thoughtful 
man  feel  the  burden  of  our  old  nature  ?  Does  not  the 
infirmity  of  men's  acts  perpetually  mock  the  ardour  of 
their  expectations  ?  "  To  will  is  present  with  me,  but 
how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find  not."  How 
welcome  then  the  intimation,  that  "  if  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature ;  old  things  are  passed 
away,  behold,  all  things  are  become  new."  That  which 
is  announced  to  us  is  no  mere  improvement,  no  exalta- 
tion or  enhancement  of  existing  qualities ;  it  is  the  re- 
construction, not  the  amendment  of  humanity;  its 
ancient  principles  are  to  be  fundamentally  recast;  and 
a  new  creation  is  to  be  substituted  for  the  old  one. 
Thus  is  the  thing  bestowed  after  which  collective  hu- 
manity had  been  yearning — "the  whole  creation 
groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now." 
To  effect  this  work  was  the  great  object  of  Christ's 
coming;  in  His  own  person  He  accomplished  that 


32 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


which  could  never  have  been  attained  by  the  tempo- 
rary palliatives  of  Jewish  law,  and  built  up  a  new 
creation  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  one.  "  In  Christ 
Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  anything,  nor  un- 
circumcision,  but  the  new  ci^eation:  and  as  many  as  walk 
according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them  and  mercy, 
and  on  the  Israel  of  God." 

Let  us  consider,  first,  what  this  new  creation  is; 
secondly,  how  it  was  to  be  effected. 

I.  It  is  a  re-creation  of  man's  nature.  The  new  race, 
therefore,  consists  still  of  the  same  individual  beings, 
who  constituted  the  old  one.  The  family  of  Adam  has 
not  been  superseded  by  any  fresh  progeny.  The 
world's  possessors  have  not  been  succeeded  by  new 
ones,  but  have  been  themselves  reformed.  "  You  hath 
He  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
Now,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  such  a  re-creation  as 
this,  unless  the  original  composition  of  man  be  borne  in 
mind;  and  it  be  considered  what  was  the  ancient 
structure  on  which  this  fresh  constitution  of  humanity 
has  been  engrafted. 

What  then  was  man's  original  creation  ?  What  do 
we  discern  in  each  individual  of  the  race  ?  We  find 
him  to  unite  certain  complicated  endowments  of  mind 
to  a  certain  curious  organization  of  body.  Both  the 
one  and  the  other  of  these  is  inherited  by  each  indi- 
vidual, through  inherence  in  that  common  race,  whose 
nature  he  partakes.  That  such  is  the  case  with  his 
body  was  never  denied :  that  the  same  thing  is  true 
respecting  his  mind  can  scarcely  be  disputed.  For  to 
say  nothing  of  that  wonderful  regularity  which  may  be 
discerned  in  the  actings  of  mind,  when  looked  at  in 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAN. 


33 


the  mass,  do  ^ye  not  perceive  in  individual  cases  the 
clearest  marks  of  hereditary  descent  ?  What  else  is 
the  cause  of  that  transmitted  corruption  which  attaches 
itself  to  the  mind  as  well  as  to  the  body  ?  Many  a  man, 
who  knows  nothing  of  his  original  parentage,  to  whom 
the  very  name  of  his  first  father  Adam  is  wholly  un- 
known, yet  gives  proof  that  he  is  linked  by  inevitable 
sequence  to  the  primary  possessor  of  our  being.  Did  not 
death  reign,  from  Adam  to  Moses,  "even  over  them 
that  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's 
transgression  ?"  And  were  it  not  for  this  identity  of 
nature,  what  ground  should  we  have  for  trusting  to 
that  judgment  of  reason,  which  we  are  compelled  to 
accept  as  the  arbiter  of  our  thoughts  ?  Let  it  be  un- 
derstood that  reason  is  a  public  gift,  common  to  the 
race  of  which  we  are  individual  members,  that  it  is  not 
the  mere  produce  of  our  single  caprice,  but  a  portion  of 
that  inheritance,  which  was  bestowed  by  the  Creator  on 
our  collective  nature,  and  its  claim  to  authority  depends 
on  His  sanction  who  gave,  and  not  merely  on  ours,  who 
employ  it. 

But  are  these  endowments  of  mind,  and  this  struc- 
ture of  body,  the  whole  of  man  ?  Does  each  individual 
consist  only  of  a  certain  quantity  measured  out  of  the 
mass  of  humanity,  as  an  hour  is  a  portion  measured 
out  of  a  day  ?  Is  there  not  some  simple,  single,  indi- 
visible principle,  which  discriminates  every  one  of  us 
from  every  other  partaker  of  our  common  being  ?  This 
it  is,  surely,  which  we  mean  when  we  appeal  to  our  own 
consciousness,  when  we  speak  of  ourselves ;  it  is  some- 
thing different  from  that  outward  frame  of  which  our 
senses  take  cognizance,  as  well  from  those  inward  facul- 


34 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


ties  which  our  mind  employs.  The  nature,  indeed,  of 
this  ultimate  gift  of  Personality  it  were  idle  to  ask,  since 
to  investigate  it  is  plainly  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
powers  of  analysis ;  but  so  much  we  may  see,  that  it  is 
intimately  connected  with  man's  responsibility,  and  is 
the  very  seat  of  that  mysterious  principle  which  we  call 
the  Will.  For  why  has  every  man  to  stand  before  the 
bar  of  God's  judgment  as  an  individual  essence,  distinct 
from  aught  besides  in  the  boundless  universe,  but  be- 
cause each  one  is  the  responsible  cause  of  his  deeds  ? 
Yet  how  could  he  be  responsible  for  them,  had  it  not 
been  the  pleasure  of  the  Almighty  to  call  beings  into 
existence  who  were  so  far  endowed  with  a  divine  attri- 
bute, that  to  each  of  them  was  given  that  spontaneous 
power  of  will,  which  rendered  him  the  principle  of 
his  own  actions?  That  such  a  power  has  been  en- 
trusted to  man,  our  own  conscience,  the  education  of 
our  children,  and  our  mode  of  dealing  with  one  another, 
is  a  sufficient  witness.  And  this  power,  with  all  that 
belongs  to  its  exercise,  is  plainly  individual  in  its  na- 
ture ;  our  future  reckoning  for  its  employment  will  be 
wholly  irrespective  of  all  other  beings ;  it  is  liable  in- 
deed, to  be  influenced,  and  is  conscious  of  the  suasion 
of  external  motives,  but  the  responsibility  of  the  ulti- 
mate decision  lies  within  itself;  it  is  an  inseparable 
adjunct  of  ourselves,  and  can  never  be  detached  from 
our  personality.  "  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitter- 
ness, and  a  stranger  doth  not  intermeddle  with  its  joy." 
"  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the 
spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ?" 

When  we  speak,  therefore,  of  those  distinctive  con- 
ditions, whereby  each  individual  is  marked  out  as  a 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAX. 


35 


separate  man,  the  thing  referred  to  is  that  ultimate 
princij^le  of  personality,  with  which  the  power  to  will  is 
indissolubly  united.  This  it  is  which  makes  each  one 
a  separate  Being,  and  involves  the  awful  consequences 
of  an  individual  judgment.  Unless  w^e  possessed  indi- 
vidual personality,  we  could  not  answer  apart ;  unless 
we  were  endowed  with  power  to  tcill,  we  could  not  be 
required  to  answer  at  all.  The  last  distinguishes  us 
from  "  horse  and  mule,  which  have  no  understanding ; 
whose  mouths  must  be  held  with  bit  and  bridle,  lest 
they  fall  upon  thee."  The  first  introduces  us  as  indi- 
visible essences  into  that  boundless  universe,  wherein 
we  stand  in  the  presence  of  our  Maker  and  of  one 
another.  We  should  not  be  self-conscious  beings  but 
for  the  one,  nor  accountable  beings,  but  for  the  other. 

Now  it  could  not  be  this  principle  of  our  personal 
being  which  was  re-created  in  the  new  birth  of  the 
Gospel,  for  otherwise  those  who  were  admitted  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  would  not  have  been  the  self-same  indi- 
viduals, who  had  existed  in  the  carnal  estate  of  nature. 
To  appeal  to  them  as  conscious  of  ha\dng  undergone  a 
change,  which  had  altered  their  state,  was  to  imply 
that  the  principle  of  consciousness  itself  remained  un- 
altered. Yet  such  is  the  mode  of  address,  which  is 
continually  employed  by  the  Apostles.  "  Eemember 
that  ye  being  in  time  past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh — that  at 
that  time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being  aliens  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  cove- 
nant of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
the  world.  But  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  who  some- 
times were  far  off,  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of 
Christ."    Words  like  these  imply  the  permanency  of 


36 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


that  ultimate  principle  of  consciousness,  by  which  this 
re-creation  of  the  moral  world  could  be  appreciated. 
Though  the  change,  therefore,  must  of  necessity  exer- 
cise mighty  influence  over  the  will  of  man,  must  give 
new  ojDportunities,  new  thoughts,  new  powers  of  judging, 
new  motives  and  impulses ;  yet  there  must  still  remain 
so  much,  as  goes  to  make  up  man's  personal  responsi- 
biUty ;  the  individual  must  remain,  though  his  nature 
was  altered.  Such  is  the  Apostle's  way  of  expressing 
the  matter;  he  speaks  of  the  will  as  helped,  influenced, 
delivered  from  the  infirmities  which  beset  it,  but  still  as 
a  principle  which  retained  the  power  of  choice,  and 
which  involved  the  responsibility  therefore  of  those  by 
whom  it  was  possessed.  "  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the 
spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  con- 
trary the  one  to  the  other,  so  that  ye  do  not  do  the 
things  which  ye  would."  But  what  is  the  remedy  of 
this  state  of  imbecility  ?  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and 
then  ye  will  not  fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh."  For  un- 
less there  were  such  power  of  choice  as  to  make  the 
decision  man's  own,  to  deal  with  him  as  a  responsible 
being  were  a  mockery.  "  Woe  to  him  that  saith  to  the 
wood,  awake;  to  the  dumb  stone,  arise."  Were  not 
man  in  some  sense  the  cause  of  his  actions,  what  mean- 
ing were  there  in  admonition  and  appeal  ?  And  since 
the  Apostles  refer  to  this  principle  of  consciousness 
as  unchanged,  amidst  that  momentous  alteration  of 
which  it  is  the  spectator,  it  must  be  the  other  part  of 
man's  being  which  is  the  subject  of  re-creation — those 
powers  and  faculties,  which  make  up  his  collective 
nature,  and  are  the  common  property  of  his  race. 
The  conclusion,  then,  is  that  man's  constitution  con- 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAX. 


37 


gists  of  two  main  parts — the  one  those  powers,  proper- 
ties, and  organs,  which  are  the  common  portion  of  the 
race,  and  for  the  employment  whereof  each  man  is  re- 
sponsible ;  the  other  the  principle  of  indi^ddualit j  itself, 
the  separate  essence  which  is  cut  off  by  the  law  of  con- 
sciousness from  all  other  beings.  In  this  last  lies  the 
ultimate  power  of  will,  because  to  it  attaches  the  obli- 
gation of  responsibiht}'.  The  last  is  the  personality  of 
man,  the  first  his  nature.  The  last  survives  every 
change;  the  first  it  is  which  is  capable  of  re-creation. 
In  its  renewal  consisted  that  wondrous  alteration  which 
is  witnessed  by  the  text.  The  new  creation  in  Christ 
Jesus  was  that  reconstruction  of  all  its  principles,  which 
implied  the  re-casting  of  everything  in  man's  nature, 
except  what  was  bound  up  with  the  indestructible 
identity  of  the  heirs  of  immortality.  "  Old  things  are 
passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become  new." 

II.  But  in  what  manner  was  this  gTcat  work  effected  ? 
This  is  the  next  subject  of  inquiry.  Now  the  text  is 
built  upon  the  fact,  that  in  Christ  was  man's  nature 
reconstructed.  As  in  Adam  all  died,  so  in  Christ  are 
all  made  alive.  Thus  was  it  God's  pleasure  to  adopt 
the  same  course  in  man's  renewal,  which  had  been 
chosen  in  his  creation.  For  the  Almighty  could  have 
framed  all  of  us  out  of  the  dust  by  the  separate  fiat  of 
His  forming  will ;  investing  us  with  those  capacities  of 
mind,  and  those  organs  of  body,  which  we  inherit  from 
a  common  sire.  But  such  was  not  His  will.  He  em- 
bodied in  one  model  those  qualities  which  He  bestowed 
upon  our  race,  and  ordained  the  wondrous  law  of  na- 
tural descent,  as  our  method  of  inheriting  them.  And  a 
corresponding  course  has  it  pleased  him  to  adopt,  re- 


38 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAN. 


specting  that  new  nature  which  He  has  given  to  man- 
kind. For  here,  too,  is  the  second  Adam  set  forth  as 
the  Head  and  model  of  the  regenerate  race ;  and  the 
law  of  Sacramental  union  ordained,  as  the  method  by 
which  this  higher  nature  should  be  communicated. 
Thus  is  the  Son  of  Man,  as  Himself  declares,  the  new 
"beginning  of  the  creation  of  God."  The  common 
stream  of  humanity  had  been  defiled  and  vitiated 
through  the  sinfulness  of  those  through  whom  it  had 
descended:  it  was  poured,  therefore,  into  His  Man- 
hood, as  into  an  incorruptible  fountain,  that  it  might 
flow  forth  again  with  greater  purity  and  lustre  than 
when  at  first  it  was  declared  to  be  "  very  good." 

Man's  nature,  therefore,  was  truly  re-created  in  Him 
who  was  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-bom 
of  every  creature."  And  through  participation  m  that 
renewed  and  perfect  being  is  the  principle  of  holiness 
extended  to  all  His  members.  "  For  we  are  His  work- 
manship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works." 
That  purity  which  belonged  by  nature  to  His  spotless 
Person  is  communicated  by  grace  to  all  His  brethren, 
through  the  putting  on  that  "  new  man,  which  after 
God  is  created  unto  righteousness  and  true  holiness." 
Thus  is  the  re-creation  of  humanity  a  real  work,  which 
in  His  sacred  Person  was  once  for  all  effected.  For 
"  of  His  fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace  for 
grace." 

And  now  to  consider  the  consequences  which  this 
truth  involves. 

1st.  It  shows  in  the  first  place,  that  however  myste- 
rious the  system  of  Sacramental  grace,  it  is  yet  in  strict 
analogy  with  the  system  of  nature.    The  ground  on 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


39 


which  the  reality  of  Sacraments  is  often  questioned,  is 
the  want  of  consonance  between  the  apparent  act  and 
its  hidden  efficacy.    The  washing  of  Avater,  the  par- 
taking of  visible  elements,  appear  to  have  no  relevance 
except  to  the  body ;  that  a  spiritual  influence  should 
accompany  means  so  simple,  that  men  should  be  truly 
re-created  through  the  due  reception  of  Baptism ;  that 
their  new  nature  should  be  really  fed  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  are  abhorrent  to  the  imagination.  That 
such  results  are  possible,  no  one  who  believes  in  a 
Divine  Being  can  of  course  deny :  but  they  seem  so 
improbable,  that  men  find  it  easier  to  give  a  figurative 
interpretation  to  those  scriptural  statements  in  which 
such  truths  are  taught,  than  to  yield  a  literal  belief  to 
that  which  the  course  of  nature  opposes.    Not  that 
they  deny  to  these  ordinances  an  instructive  efficacy, 
which  renders  them  a  beneficial  lesson  to  the  mind, 
but  they  think  it  impossible  that  virtue  can  be  so  indis- 
solubly  bound  up  with  these  ordinances  themselves 
(however  rightly  received),  that  they  can  be  of  use, 
except  so  far  as  the  intellectual  nature  is  competent  to 
understand  them.    Their  value  is  supposed  to  be  refer- 
rible  to  the  power  of  God's  grace,  working  according  to 
that  common  and  usual  course,  whereby  He  addresses 
Himself  by  words  or  symbols  to  the  reason  and  affec- 
tions of  men  :  not  to  any  mysterious  efficacy,  which  is 
bound  up  with  the  appointed  instruments  whereby  the 
Sacraments  are  administered.    The  Church,  indeed, 
encourages  the  hope  that  God  will  in  mercy  make  up 
for  the  involuntary  loss  of  those  who  are  of  necessity 
debarred  the  due  participation  of  Sacraments;  but  how 
many  are  there  who  would  feel  no  kind  of  anxiety 


40 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


whether  those  words  and  that  matter  were  employed, 
without  which  can  ensue  no  valid  baptism;  or  to 
whom  it  would  seem  a  question  of  absolute  indifference 
whether  the  want  of  authority  in  the  administrator, 
the  alteration  of  the  words  of  consecration,  or  the  omis- 
sion of  any  other  essential  circumstance,  rendered  nuga- 
tory the  offering  of  the  Holy  Eucharist.  Such  persons, 
it  is  plain,  do  not  believe  that  "  the  outward  and  visible 
sign"  is  "a  means  whereby  we  receive"  God's  grace, 
and  a  pledge  to  assure  us  thereof"  What  they  look 
to  in  reality  is  either  the  intellectual  working  of  their 
ow^n  minds,  or  such  influence  as  is  exercised  by  the 
Parent  Spirit  of  the  Universe  on  their  ow^n  spirits,  irre- 
spective of  those  Sacramental  means,  whereby  we  par- 
ticipate in  Our  Lord's  Mediation. 

That  such  is  their  real  meaning,  is  readily  detected 
by  their  feeling  respecting  infant  Baptism.  For  here 
is  a  case,  in  wdiich  the  recipient's  understanding  is 
unable  to  take  any  present  part  in  the  work  which  is 
performed ;  the  whole  act  is  on  the  side  of  God  :  if  any 
benefit  accrue,  therefore,  it  must  depend  entirely  on  the 
efficacy  of  those  means  which  God  has  ordained  for  the 
world's  renewal.  The  persons  in  question,  therefore, 
deny  that  infants  receive  any  present  benefit  from  Bap- 
tism ;  their  only  reason  for  retaining  this  usage  is 
either  ancient  custom,  or  the  expectation  of  prospective 
advantages ;  they  cannot  believe  that  any  real  re-creor 
tion  takes  place  in  unconscious  receivers  through  that 
holy  rite  :  what  is  not  effected  through  the  open  channel 
of  the  intellect  they  absolutely  disavow.  And  hence 
may  be  understood  w^hat  is  their  real  meaning,  even 
when  they  profess  to  value  Sacramental  ordinances. 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAX. 


41 


What  they  truly  mean  is,  to  admit  them  as  external 
instruments  of  instruction  :  their  efficacy  as  the  true 
channel  of  grace  is  wholly  denied.  For  so  soon  as  a 
case  can  be  found  in  which  the  co-operation  of  man  can 
be  altogether  eliminated  from  the  action,  they  maintain 
that  it  is  impossible  to  suppose  it  valuable ;  plainly, 
therefore,  it  is  to  the  efficacy  of  the  transaction  on  the 
human  mind,  not  to  the  actual  transmission  of  a  Divine 
gift,  that  their  attention  is  directed. 

Now  to  this  whole  series  of  objections,  the  truth 
which  is  set  forth  in  the  text  affords  a  complete  reply. 
For  it  shows  the  Sacramental  sj'stem  to  be  but  the 
counterpart  of  that  which  is  followed  in  the  order  of 
God's  natural  Providence;  and  no  reason,  therefore, 
can  be  adduced  for  denying  the  one,  since  we  are  com- 
pelled by  the  course  of  events  to  acknowledge  the 
other.  For  is  not  the  propagation  of  those  natural 
qualities,  which  come  by  birth,  every  whit  as  extraor- 
dinary as  the  transmission  of  those  Divine  graces  which 
come  by  regeneration  ?  Take  the  case  of  such  intel- 
lectual endowments  as  may  be  plainly  sho^^Ti  to  be  an 
hereditary  gift,  by  their  re-appearance  in  those  who 
are  near  of  kin.  Can  we  at  all  understand  how  such 
qualities  are  transmitted  ?  Water,  it  is  said,  or  bread 
and  wine,  have  no  natural  aptitude  to  convey  heavenly 
blessings.  It  is  irrational,  therefore,  to  expect  them  to 
be  the  channel  of  an  influence,  which  is  beyond  their 
powers.  But  of  what  materials  are  our  bodies  con- 
structed ?  They  consist  but  of  such  ingredients  as 
earth,  and  air,  and  water  supply.  In  the  bones  and 
muscles,  and  nerves  of  a  child,  no  other  substances  can 
be  detected.    Now  what  aptitude  have  these  agents 


42  THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 

to  convey  intellectual  gifts  ?  When  helpless  infancy, 
therefore,  is  launched  forth  upon  the  troublous  waves 
of  life,  what  reason  have  we  to  expect  that  the  uncon- 
scious being,  who  lies  before  us,  will  ever  be  competent 
to  read  the  mysteries  of  nature,  and  extend  the  im- 
mortal limits  of  thought?  Still  more  would  the  same 
difficulty  press  upon  us,  if  we  could,  with  propriety, 
carry  the  inquiry  further,  and  trace  up  the  existence 
of  man  into  its  embryo  state.  For  those  intellectual 
gifts,  by  which  men  master  the  external  world,  the 
facult}^  by  which  we  estimate  the  relations  of  time  and 
space,  and  thus  pass  beyond  the  "  flaming  bounds"  of 
the  material  universe,  are  not  a  portion  of  that  indi- 
vidual essence  on  which  our  separate  responsibility  is 
dependent :  they  belong,  plainly,  to  our  common  being, 
they  are  a  part  of  that  collective  nature,  which  is  the 
general  inheritance  of  man.  What  right,  then,  have 
we  to  expect  such  endowments  in  the  unconscious 
infant  who  lies  before  us  ?  How  can  he  have  received 
them  through  that  material  propagation  which  binds 
him  to  his  race  ?  What  aptitude  have  the  inert  ele- 
ments of  which  he  is  composed  to  transmit  such  quali- 
ties? Our  only  reason  for  supposing  it  is,  that  his 
outward  organization  assigns  him  to  Adam's  race,  and 
therefore  we  believe  that  by  some  unknown  law  of 
transmission,  his  intellectual  capacities  will  turn  out 
to  be  fashioned  upon  the  model  of  his  parent.  Such 
natural  faith  rides  triumphant  overall  the  difficulties 
of  the  case  before  us.  The  infant  gives,  as  yet,  no  sign 
of  understanding ;  nothing  binds  him  to  his  parent  but 
a  physical  and  material  derivation:  there  exists  no 
show  of  relationship  between  him  and  his  parents' 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


43 


mind  :  the  parts  of  which  he  consists,  are  the  gross, 
dull,  unconscious  elements,  which  float  around  us  in 
the  air,  or  which  we  tread  under  our  feet ;  and  yet  we 
assume  as  certain,  that  the  course  of  a  few  years  will 
see  the  gradual  development  of  an  intellectual  power ; 
and  this  power  must  come  through  the  channel  of  its 
parents,  since  it  is  a  power  common  to  our  race  at 
large,  and  is  the  reproduction  of  that  original  type  in 
which  humanity  was  moulded. 

Now,  if  natural  faith  can  justify  such  assumptions, 
what  reason  have  we  for  rejecting  that  faith  which  is 
supernatural  ?  Why  should  that  birth,  which  is  from 
above,  be  disbelieved,  if  the  law  of  earthly  transmission 
is  so  readily  admitted  ?  Men  tell  us  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  believe  St.  Paul's  statement,  that  salvation — a 
gift  which  implies  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  re- 
newal of  nature — is  bestowed  by  the  washing  of  re- 
generation and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  And 
how,  then,  can  they  believe  that  intellectual  gifts  are 
transmitted  by  material  propagation  ?  Is  it  incredible 
that  the  properties  of  the  new  nature — love,  purity, 
meekness — should  be  infused,  as  the  Church  declares, 
"  by  the  laver  of  regeneration  in  baptism,"  and  yet 
credible  that  the  qualities  of  the  old  nature — imagina- 
tion, genius,  taste — should  be  implanted  in  the  womb  ? 
It  is  said,  perhaps,  that  these  and  similar  endowments 
were  bound  up  in  the  nature  of  Adam  and  are  there- 
fore transmitted  along  with  his  outward  form  by  some 
unknown  law  of  concomitance.  And  is  it  not  the  very 
doctrine  which  the  text  declares,  that  the  graces  of  a 
spiritual  life  were  in  like  manner  bound  up  in  the 
nature  of  the  second  Adam,  and  are  therefore  trans- 


44 


THE  EE-CREATIOX  OF  MAN. 


mitted,  in  a  manner  equally  inexplicable,  to  those  who 
by  the  new  birth  of  baptism  are  made  members  of 
Christ  ?  For  the  transmission  of  such  gifts  through 
Sacramental  ordinances  is  not  an  abstract  association 
of  sensible  elements  and  spiritual  powers.  The  benefit 
of  baptism  is  not  a  vague,  general,  unlimited  one ;  it  is 
not  an  arbitrary  mean,  whereby  the  Spirit  of  God  works 
upon  men.  What  gives  their  character  both  to  Bap- 
tism and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  is  that  they  are  revealed 
to  be  the  appointed  means  of  membership  in  Christ : 
that  thus  is  transmitted  the  nature  of  the  New,  as  by 
birth  that  of  the  old  Adam.  In  Baptism  is  this  higher 
nature  first  implanted  :  for  "  as  many  of  you  as  have 
been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."  In  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  the  new  being  of  man  replenished  : 

this  is  the  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven, 
that  a  man  may  eat  thereof  and  not  die."  For  "  we 
being  many  are  one  bread  and  one  body,  for  we  are  all 
partakers  of  that  one  bread." 

Is  the  Sacramental  system  then  maintained  to  be 
antecedently  improbable :  the  same  objection  might 
be  advanced  against  the  course  of  nature.  Now,  as  on 
the  testimony  of  experience  we  admit  the  one,  so  on  the 
testimony  of  revelation  must  we  receive  the  other. 

The  first  man  Adam  Avas  made  a  living  soul :"  of  this 
truth  observation  yields  continual  proof,  and  Scripture 
testifies  to  the  corresponding  assurance ;  "  the  last 
Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit."  As  the  natural 
qualities  are  transmitted  to  those  who  by  physical  or- 
ganization are  united  to  the  one,  so  are  the  graces  of  a 
new  life  communicated  to  those  who  hold  ^*  the  Head, 
from  which  the  whole  body  by  joints  and  bands  has 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAN. 


45 


nourishment  ministered."  If  there  has  been  a  real  re- 
creation of  man's  nature ;  a  true  reconstruction  of  his 
ancient  being ;  and  this  renewal  began  in  the  divine 
Son  of  Man,  that  from  Him  it  might  be  transmitted  to 
all  His  members  ;  some  means  must  be  provided,  where- 
by we  hold  to  Christ,  even  as  by  the  course  of  nature 
we  hold  to  Adam.  That  Sacraments  should  be  or- 
dained as  the  medium  of  such  union — that  outward 
elements  should  be  the  channel  through  which  the  new 
Head  extends  His  life-gi\dng  Presence  through  the  line 
of  His  children,  instead  of  contradicting,  is  accordant  to 
that  natural  system,  whereby  we  inherit  the  inward  quali- 
ties as  well  as  outward  organization  of  our  earthly  sire. 

2ndly.  But  it  may  be  objected  :  the  impress  of  Adam 
is  visible,  that  of  Christ  is  not  apparent.  The  faculties 
which  we  inherit  of  the  one  cannot  be  doubted  ;  a 
spiritual  likeness  to  the  other  is  often  wanting.  If  the 
efficacy  of  Sacraments  be  so  real,  if  they  truly  convey 
graces  to  the  soul,  why  is  not  their  influence  more 
apparent  ?  Why  do  the  vices  of  the  old  man  disgTace 
the  progeny  of  the  new  one  ?  This  is  the  second  ob- 
jection which  is  commonly  adduced  against  the  Sacra- 
mental system,  and  to  this  likewise  the  considerations 
which  have  been  adduced  afford  a  reply. 

The  objection  alleged  is  drawn  from  the  deficiencies 
of  Christians.  Let  it  be  admitted  that  no  inherent 
improbability  attaches  to  the  theory  of  Sacramental 
grace,  that  it  is  exactly  consonant  to  the  analog}'  of 
nature ;  that  we  may  receive,  therefore,  in  their  simple 
and  natural  sense,  those  Scriptural  testimonies  which 
assure  us  that  by  Sacraments  men  are  members  of  the 
new  Adam ;  yet  why  is  it  not  found  to  be  so  in  fact  ? 


46 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


Why  does  so  little  difference  prevail  between  the  bap- 
tized and  the  unbaptized  :  between  those  who  partake 
and  those  who  reject  that  spiritual  manna  which  comes 
down  from  heaven  ?  It  was  not  so  when  in  the  wilder- 
ness men  eat  angels'  food.  Why  then  is  the  true  manna 
so  inoperative  ? 

Now  this  objection  makes  it  necessary  to  recall  to 
your  thoughts  what  it  is  which  by  the  new  creation  in 
Christ  is  really  altered.    The  responsibility  of  man  has 
been  shown  to  remain  such  as  it  was :  his  separate  con- 
sciousness, his  individual  being  continues ;  that  which 
has  been  re-made  is  the  common  nature,  the  instrument 
and  agent  of  our  will^  which  we  receive  as  the  inheri- 
tance of  our  original  parent.    True,  the  will  of  man  is 
in  a  measure  affected  by  this  common  being,  with  which 
it  is  so  intimately  allied ;  its  impulses  are  in  no  slight 
degree  modified  by  the  proximity  of  that  on  which  it  so 
nearly  borders ;  the  gift  of  grace  which  is  bestowed 
upon  us  reaches  to  our  whole  nature ;  but  the  man  him- 
self, the  individual  still  survives,  he  is  still  a  responsi- 
ble agent,  the  power  of  choice  or  refusal  still  lies  within 
himself,  he  does  not  cease  to  be  a  single  essence  stand- 
ing alone  in  the  creation  of  God.    Were  it  otherwise,  he 
could  not  l.e  called  upon  hereafter  for  a  separate  ac- 
count, neither  could  he  be  addressed  at  present  as  a 
spontaneous  agent.    When  we  speak  of  him  therefore 
as  new-born  in  baptism,  we  never  imply  that  his  old 
responsibility  is  lost,  that  the  power  to  will  has  been 
taken  away  from  him ;  these  things  are  still  the  neces- 
sary condition  of  his  immortal  being;  they  are  liable 
to  influence,  but  not  to  coercion. 

What  is  received,  therefore,  through  the  divine  ordi- 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN.  47 

nances  of  God's  grace,  is  not  any  such  power  as  does 
away  with  the  accountableness  of  mankind,  but  such  a 
gift  only  as  places  man  in  a  higher  sphere  of  responsi- 
bility, gives  him  more  to  use,  a  more  precious  treasure 
for  which  to  account.  He  who  had  received  one  talent 
possessed  the  same  power  to  use  it  rightly  as  he  to  whom 
ten  had  been  entrusted.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  how 
could  he  have  deserved  blame  as  an  unprofitable  ser- 
vant? Supposing  then  that  the  divine  blessings  of  the 
new  creation  were  not  more  frequently  improved  than 
the  natural  blessings  of  the  old  one,  it  would  not  follow 
that  the  gifts  themselves  were  not  weighty  and  great. 
Let  it  be  remembered  only  that  the  re-creation  of  man's 
race  is  the  reconstruction  of  those  common  endowments 
which  belong  to  his  ge;  eral  nature,  that  it  leaves  his 
personal  responsibility  in  some  sort  untouched,  and  such 
a  result  must,  in  a  measure,  be  expected.  And  yet  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  new  birth  of  man's  race  has, 
on  the  whole,  produced  a  wonderful  renovation.  The 
advance  of  Christ's  Church  has  been  a  continual  leaven- 
ing of  the  lump  of  corrupt  nature.  The  old  principles 
of  heathen  degeneracy  have  been  continually  melting 
away  under  the  renewing  influence  of  the  Gospel.  No 
doubt  this  would  have  been  more  completely  the  case, 
if  a  true  faith  had  always  been  accompanied  by  a  con- 
sistent practice.  But  that  the  contrary  result  would 
arise  was  predicted  in  Holy  Writ.  We  are  plainly 
taught  that  the  old  man  of  our  carnal  nature  will  main- 
tain his  place  even  in  the  Church  of  God.  Nay,  as 
time  goes  on,  it  is  declared  that  the  enmity  of  Satan's 
servants  will  become  more  virulent.  Evil  men  and 
seducers  shall  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving  and 


48 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


being  deceived."    And  as  want  of  practice  weakens 
flxitli,  so  does  want  of  faith  weaken  practice.  How 
many  in  these  days  would  respond  more  duly  to  the 
privileges  of  their  spiritual  birth,  if  the  prevalence  of 
sins  within  the  Church  did  not  provoke  the  unbelieving 
inquirj^,  "what  good  can  this  birthright  do  me  ?"  Hence 
do  men  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  those  blessings  to  which 
themselves  were  admitted  in  childhood,  because  the 
fruits  of  the  new  creation  are  not  exhibited  in  the 
general  improvement  of  the  age.    Thus  is  the  principle 
of  their  own  life  unimproved ;  they  discern  not  the 
reality  of  that  spiritual  food,  by  which  their  riper  years 
might  be  strengthened ;  the  privileges  of  the  Church 
continue  to  be  regarded  as  only  a  form,  a  figure,  a 
name ;  the  true  means  of  union  with  Christ  are  un- 
known ;  the  actual  re-creation  of  man's  collective  race 
is  interpreted  into  a  poetical  expression  for  that  natural 
alteration,  which  change  of  objects  produces  in  the  in- 
dividual mind ;  and  men  go  on  to  entail  upon  another 
generati  n  that  inheritance  of  unbelief,  which  the 
degeneracy  of  their  fathers  inflicted  upon  themselves. 
"  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's 
teeth  are  set  on  edge."    When  will  men  awaken  to  the 
truth,  that  the  new  creation  in  Christ  is  a  real  work, 
which  should  have  a  true  influence  on  the  bodies  and 
spirits  of  mankind?    When  will  they  be  persuaded  that 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  flesh  was  in  fad, 
a  new  "  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God  ?"    Then  will 
the  slow  progress  of  that  hallowing  "leaven,"  which 
was  "  hid"  in  human  nature,  be  referred  not  to  its  own 
weakness,  but  to  the  inveteracy  of  man's  unbelief,  and 
to  the  obduracy  of  his  corrupt  affections.    Let  the  ill 


THE  RE-CREATIOX  OF  MAX. 


49 


be  properly  appreciated,  let  the  remedy  be  plainly 
taught,  and  the  painful  spectacle  would  not  be  so  often 
seen,  of  an  earnestness  which  but  impedes  men's  efforts 
at  amendment,  and  of  a  zeal  which  but  involves  them 
in  more  fatal  errors. 

One  further  conclusion  does  this  subject  suggest;  the 
distinction  between  two  processes,  which  are  often  con- 
founded— conversion,  namely,  and  regeneration.  There 
has  been  no  gTeater  impediment  than  this  confusion  to 
a  due  appreciation  of  the  nature  of  either.  Men  have 
spoken  of  conversion  as  though  it  were  another  form  of 
regeneration:  of  regeneration,  as  though  con  version  were 
impHed  as  its  necessary  result.  "Whereas  the  two  pro- 
cesses, though  intimately  allied,  are  essentially  distinct. 
Conversion  is  that  change  or  turning  in  man's  indi- 
vidual being,  whereby  his  will  is  altered,  and  in  place 
of  the  love  of  sin  comes  the  love  of  holiness.  "Whatever 
influence  external  motives  or  mward  suasion  may  exer- 
cise upon  the  mind,  yet  the  change  is  that  of  the  mind 
itself.  "  Turn  Thou  us,  0  Good  Lord,  and  so  shall  we 
be  turned."  That  power  comes  only  from  God,  that 
His  Spirit  bloweth  where  it  Hsteth,  that  His  preventing 
grace  is  the  only  refoiToing  principle  in  the  moral  uni- 
verse— all  this  is  freelj-  admitted  by  those  who  yet 
vindicate  for  humanity  the  mysterious  possession  of  a 
responsible  nature — the  possession,  that  is,  of  a  icill  by 
which  grace  may  either  be  refused  or  accepted.  How 
these  two  principles  are  to  be  harmonized,  is  among  the 
secrets  which  philosophy  has  not  been  able  to  explore 
— that  the  two  principles  co-exist  is  amongst  the  sim- 
plest dictates  of  Revelation  and  of  conscience.  Con- 
version, then,  is  that  change  whereby  the  heart,  which 


50  THE   RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


once  turned  away  from  God,  is  turned  back  towards 
Him.  It  is  the  alteration  which  befalls  man's  respon- 
sible principle ;  the  turning  of  his  will ;  the  change  of 
that  invisible  being,  which  each  individual  refers  to, 
when  he  speaks  of  himself  It  was  a  process,  which 
belonged  to  the  Jewish  as  well  as  to  the  Christian  cove- 
nant ;  and  under  the  law  of  nature  itself  it  was  not  un- 
known.   It  was  man's  obedience  to  God's  impulse. 

Regeneration,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  specific  gift 
of  the  Gospel.  It  is  that  new  birth  of  humanity,  of 
which  prophets  had  obscurely  spoken,  and  which  was 
bestowed  in  the  fulness  of  time  through  His  coming,  who 
was  the  true  heir  of  the  household  of  God.  Therefore 
is  it  spoken  of  in  Holy  Writ  as  the  collective  attribute 
of  that  spiritual  kingdom,  wherein  all  the  members  of 
Christ  are  made  participants  of  a  nobler  being.  "  The 
Regeneration"  is  said  to  be  the  time,  "  when  the  Son  of 
Man  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory."  And  our 
regeneration  is  in  like  manner  connected  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture with  the  washing  of  Baptism,  because  in  that  ordi- 
nance men  enter  into  the  first  possession  of  those  gifts, 
which  extend  to  all  His  members  from  the  mystic  Head. 
In  these  two  places  only  of  Holy  Writ  does  the  word 
occur ;  and  it  has  plain  reference  to  that  re-creation  of 
man's  common  nature,  which  was  wrought  in  Christ. 
Regeneration,  therefore,  is  essential  to  Christian  con- 
version, because  that  alteration  of  heart,  whereby  every 
individual  obeys  the  Gospel,  derives  its  impulse  from 
the  divine  renewal  of  humanity  at  large.  But  it  de- 
pends on  man's  obedience  to  this  impulse,  whether  the 
conversion  of  his  individual  will  affords  a  true  response 
to  the  opportunities  of  his  position.    For  as  regenera- 


THE  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN. 


51 


tion  is  the  re-creation  of  man's  common  nature,  so  is 
conversion  the  acquiescence  of  each  single  heart  in  the 
perfect  law  of  the  Divine  will.  Through  Sacraments 
is  the  common  nature  regenerated,  because  through 
them  is  the  secret  working  of  that  Almighty  Power,  by 
which  the  world  must  be  renewed,  even  as  it  was  at 
first  created:  but  the  law  of  man's  individual  responsi- 
bility has  its  place  likewise  in  that  mighty  work, 
whereby  the  children  of  earth  may  become  meet  to  be 
the  children  of  heaven. 


SERMON  lY. 


ADVENT. 


St.  Matt.  xxi.  5. 
"  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Z ion,  Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  the^." 

Thus  does  the  Church  hitroduce  that  season  of  Ad- 
vent, which  begins  to-day.  This  is  part  of  to-day's 
Gospel;  the  description  of  Christ's  entering  into  Jeru- 
salem, when  He  was  seen  amons:  men.  It  suits  there- 
fore  with  the  circumstances  of  the  present  time,  when 
we  recall  Christ's  first  coming  in  the  flesh,  and  make 
preparation  for  His  second  coming  to  judgment.  The 
word  Advent  means  coming.  Who  is  it,  brethren,  who 
comes  ?  Christ  Our  Lord  comes  :  He  comes  three  wavs  : 

at  this  season  did  He  come  first  in  the  flesh:  bv  the 

'  t/ 

ordinances  of  His  Church  He  comes  yearly  to  preach 
repentance;  and  with  the  Archangel's  trump  will  He 
come  finally  to  judgment.  "Tell  ye  the  daughter  of 
Zion,  Behold,  thv  Kino;  cometh  unto  thee." 

This,  brethren,  is  why  the  Church  begins  her  new 
year  before  the  year  of  nature  is  concluded.  For  the 
Church's  services  begin  again  to-day.  Look  in  the 
Prayer  Book,  and  you  will  see  that  to-day  we  begin 
with  "the  Collects,  Epistles,  and  Gospels  to  be  used 
throughout  the  year."    So,  too,  do  we  begin  our  Sunday 


54 


ADVENT. 


Lessons  with  the  first  chapter  of  Isaiah's  prophecy. 
Thus  have  we  finished  the  series  of  the  past  year's  ser- 
vices. They  are  over — whether  for  good  or  evil :  whe- 
ther we  have  frequented  or  despised,  have  reverenced 
or  profaned  them.  They  will  come  back  to  us  no  more  : 
they  are  with  the  dead :  their  effect  remains,  but  them- 
selves are  past.  And  yet  the  year  of  nature  is  not 
finished.  The  sun  has  yet  to  sink  lower — the  days 
l;ave  to  grow  yet  more  short.  Winter,  with  all  its  icy 
chilliness,  is  but  beginning  to  visit  us  from  its  dwelling 
in  the  north.  Why  then  does  the  Church  make  her 
division  at  this  season ;  and  begin  beforehand  her  yearly 
course?  The  reason  is,  that  what  she  watches  for  is 
not  the  rising  of  the  sun  of  nature,  but  the  rising  of  the 
sun  of  grace.  You  can  but  reap  in  harvest,  you  can 
but  sow  in  seed-time;  only  when  the  soil  is  ripe  for  it, 
can  the  harrow  work  the  land,  or  the  plough  turn  up 
the  furrow;  but  the  soil  of  man's  heart  requires  a  differ- 
ent husbandry;  the  Church's  crop  does  not  depend 
upon  the  course  of  this  world,  but  upon  the  presence  of 
Christ. 

Let  me  notice,  then.  Firsts — What  is  the  great  event 
which  fixes  the  Church's  seasons;  and  Secondly — Why 
the  year  should  thus  be  ruled  by  it. 

L  The  Church's  seasons  are  a  continual  witness  to 
one  thing — God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Those  who  re- 
gard them  cannot  fail  to  have  this  truth  brought  keenly 
before  them :  those  who  fail  to  notice  them  lose  this 
yearly  warning  respecting  the  cause  of  their  salvation- 
Brethren,  I  have  met,  and  that  in  this  land,  with  per- 
sons who  did  not  know  who  Christ  was :  I  soon  found 
that  they  made  but  little  count  of  Christmas-Day. 


ADVENT. 


55 


Again,  I  have  met  with  those  who  did  not  know  what 
good  was  effected  by  Christ's  death :  I  found  that  they 
never  observed  Good-Friday.  If  men  kept  these  days 
as  days  of  religious  worship,  they  could  not  fail  to  enter 
into  the  events,  of  which  these  days  tell  us.  They 
would  see  the  importance  of  Christ's  Birth  into  the 
world,  when  they  remembered  what  it  is,  of  which 
Christmas-Day  reminds  us.  ^Ye  were  all  one  man's 
sons,  as  the  children  of  Jacob  expressed  it,  all  one  fa- 
mily, relations  to  one  another,  because  sprung  from  one 
father,  Adam,  and  wherever  you  went  over  the  world, 
you  still  found  the  same  race,  descended  from  the  same 
parent.  This  great  family  is  what  is  called  mankind. 
And  it  had  been  originally  placed  here  to  serve  God 
and  be  happy.  It  had  not  only  received  authority  over 
the  earth,  and  all  the  animals  that  inhabit  it,  but  it 
had  been  created  in  God's  image,  to  render  Him  service 
and  praise.  All  those  evils  which  bring  misery  wdth 
them,  pain,  sickness,  poverty,  death,  were  as  yet  un- 
knowh.  "For  God  made  not  death,"  says  the  Book  of 
Wisdom,  "neither  hath  He  pleasure  in  the  destruction 
of  the  living."  What  happiness,  then,  was  there  not 
in  store  for  the  children  of  Adam  ?  There  would  have 
been  none  of  this  hard  bondage — the  never-ending  still- 
beginning  toil  of  country  life — wherein  "  all  things  are 
full  of  labour ;  man  cannot  utter  it :  the  eye  is  not  satis- 
fied with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing."  Rest, 
contentment,  peace,  tranquillity — these  things  would 
have  given  men  a  happiness,  which  few  at  present  have 
leisure  to  seek  in  them,  and  which  those  who  have 
leisure  do  not  find.  And  why  do  they  not  find  it  ? 
Why  is  not  rest  and  peace  the  same  blessing  which 


56 


ADVENT. 


they  were  first  meant  to  be  ?  Because  of  sin.  There 
is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked.  Leisure  and 
rest  only  make  bad  men  more  unhappy  and  more  sin- 
fuh  For  this  great  family  of  mankind,  by  letting  sin 
in  among  them,  let  in  misery.  And  thus  were  pain, 
misery,  guilt,  and  death  spread  abroad  among  all 
Adam's  descendants — these  evil  companions  followed 
men  wherever  they  went — cities  were  filled  with  them, 
they  broke  in  on  the  tranquillity  of  villages — no  cottage 
so  mean,  no  palace  so  shining,  no  farm  so  solitary,  no 
street  so  thronged,  but  these  curses  were  found  there. 

This  was  the  universal  condition  of  Adam's  children 
eighteen  hundred  and  fiftj^  years  ago.  But  then  came 
tin  alteration.  There  was  born  one  of  this  family,  who 
differed  from  all  the  rest.  He  was  a  man,  brethren,  as 
you  and  I  are;  He  was  a  woman's  son,  but  then  He 
was  God  also,  ^ow,  to  be  man,  made  Him  like  us; 
but  to  be  God,  made  Him  other  than  us.  A  common 
man  is  no  better  than  his  brethren,  but  the  God-man 
was  better.  And  by  reason  of  this  difference  between 
us  and  Him,  was  He  able  to  redeem  us  from  death. 
That  punishment,  which  we  all  deserved — God  was 
pleased  to  let  Him  bear  it  in  our  stead.  "  He  Himself 
bare  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree."  This  one 
pure,  good,  and  divine  man,  undertook  the  whole  bur- 
then of  those  offences,  of  which  all  His  brethren  had 
been  guilty.  And  not  only  did  he  bear  our  sins,  but 
for  those  who  are  joined  to  Him  He  mends  that  man's 
nature,  which  He  stooped  so  mercifully  to  share  w;ith 
ourselves.  Let  foul  water  flow  into  a  pure  cistern,  and 
when  it  has  stood  awhile  it  will  flow  forth  clear  and 
bright,  and  be  as  good  to  look  through  as  the  blue  of 


ADVENT. 


57 


heaven.  Now  so  it  was  when  Christ  took  man's  nature 
into  the  Godhead.  For  Christ  was  God  from  God;  Ee 
was  God  before  the  worlds  began ;  and  into  this  pure 
and  glorious  nature  He  took  our  weak  and  polluted  na- 
ture ;  He  made  it  clean  because  it  was  held  in  Himself, 
who  could  not  be  defiled  ;  and  therefore  he  gives  it  out 
agam  to  us  clear  and  bright — to  be  joined  to  Him  is  to 
be  joined  to  a  fountain,  where  manhood  has  been  cleansed 
and  purified,  and  from  which,  therefore,  it  may  flow  forth 
for  the  sanctification  of  soul  and  body  to  all  mankind. 

This  is  the  peculiar  benefit  which  we  get  by  Sacra- 
ments; their  advantage  is,  that  in  them  the  purified 
nature  of  Christ  the  God-man  is  communicated  to  all 
devout,  faithful,  and  penitent  communicants,  in  order 
that  they  also  may  be  made  pure.  This  is  declared  by 
Our  Lord  Himself  to  have  been  a  purpose  of  His  life 
here  below.  "  For  their  sakes,"  He  says,  "  I  sanctify 
Myself,  that  they  also  may  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth."  And  it  is  only  through  the  atonement  which 
this  God-man  has  made,  and  through  the  renewed  nar 
ture  which  He  gives  to  those  who  are  joined  to  Him, 
that  we  can  have  any  right  to  draw  near  to  God,  or 
that  our  prayers  can  be  accepted.  For  we  are  all  heirs 
to  that  defiled  nature  which  had  spread  over  all  the 
earth  when  Christ  came  into  it.  How  can  our  prayers, 
therefore,  be  good  enough  for  God  to  hear,  or  our  el'orts 
strong  enough  to  work  our  amendment  ? 

Many  persons  have  a  notion  that  religion  means 

merely  that  they  should  encourage  good  thoughts  in 

their  minds,  that  they  should  intend  what  is  right,  and, 

so  far  as  they  can,  do  it ;  and  they  hope  that  Christ, 

who  is  so  merciful,  and  in  whose  name  they  believe, 

5 


58 


ADVENT. 


will  accept  and  forgive  them.  Religion,  they  say,  is  a 
personal  concern,  and  so  they  think  nothing  necessary 
but  to  cast  themselves  upon  Christ,  by  the  personal 
action  of  their  own  thoughts.  Now  this  is  a  good  thing 
to  do,  but  it  should  not  be  put  instead  of  those  actions 
of  Christ  Our  Lord,  whereby  He  mercifully  unites  us  to 
Himself.  It  is  our  part  of  the  work,  it  is  that  which 
is  done  in  our  own  minds ;  therefore  it  would  be  worth 
nothing  unless  something  was  truly  done  by  Christ 
outside  of  us ;  unless  He  had  appointed  means,  namely, 
the  Holy  Sacraments,  whereby  He  came  to  meet  us, 
and  gave  us  actual  union  with  Himself  This  union,  I 
say,  He  gives  to  every  devout  and  penitent  believer  in 
His  Holy  Sacraments.  For  in  His  Holy  Sacraments 
He  bestows  that  blessing  upon  every  worthy  communi- 
cant, which  He  bestowed  upon  man's  nature  at  large, 
when  He  joined  it  to  the  Godhead.  This  was  the 
great  work,  which  was  done  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago.  Before  that  time  Adam's  family  consisted 
only  of  common  men ;  since  that  time  it  has  consisted 
besides  of  the  God-man  and  His  brethren.  Now  this 
God-man  and  His  brethren  make  up  what  is  called  the 
Church.  The  God-man  is  the  Head  of  it :  His  breth- 
ren are  its  members.  For  God  "  hath  made  Him  to  be 
Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His  body, 
the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  All  the 
purity,  peace,  and  happiness  which  belong  to  Chris- 
tians, the  glory  whereby  they  are  marked  off  from 
other  men,  their  calm  hope  in  this  world,  their  exalted 
portion  in  the  world  to  come — all  these  things  flow  into 
them  only  through  their  union  with  that  God-man,  who 
is  the  Church's  Head,  the  Saviour  of  the  Body. 


ADYEXT. 


59 


II.  And  was  not  this  great  event  well  fitted  to  give 
its  character  to  the  Church's  year  ?  Ought  not  all  sea- 
sons of  our  life  to  bear  marks  of  itf  Can  there  be 
things  more  important  either  in  this  world  or  the  world 
to  come  ?  Does  it  not  afiect  all  classes,  every  age,  all 
nations  of  the  earth  ?  Look  at  the  laws  of  the  land. 
They  bear  the  name  of  the  King  or  Queen,  by  whose 
authority  they  were  sanctioned :  and  they  are  remem- 
bered by  the  year  of  the  Prince's  reign  in  which  they 
were  agreed  upon.  Who  is  it  brethren,  who  reigns 
over  His  Church  to  the  end  of  time?  Is  it  not  He, 
whom  the  text  brings  before  us,  saying,  "  Fear  not, 
daughter  of  Zion,  Behold  thy  King  cometh."  The 
text  refers  to  ancient  prophecy,  which  sets  forth  the 
nature  of  those  blessings,  which  the  King  of  saints 
confers  upon  His  people.  "  Say  ye  to  the  daughter  of 
Sion,  Behold  thy  salvation  cometh."  He  it  is  on  whose 
presence  our  salvation  also  is  dependent — the  present 
King  over  all  His  saints  :  and  should  not  therefore  His 
Advent,  His  coming  in  the  flesh,  be  still  and  ever 
remembered  in  the  grateful  worship  of  all  His  ser- 
vants ?  Does  He  reigTi  above  our  Advocate — and  shall 
He  not  be  known  upon  earth,  and  the  years  be  called 
by  His  name  ? 

And  for  this,  brethren,  we  have  the  further  reason, 
that  to  remember  His  first  coming  in  the  flesh,  is  a 
help  towards  remembering  His  second  coming  as  our 
Judge.  "  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  away  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come,  even  as  ye  have  seen 
Him  go  into  heaven."  He  will  come  with  the  same 
body,  which  He  took  of  Adam's  race,  with  the  same 
mind  which  He  shared  with  ourselves,  to  execute  that 


60 


ADVENT. 


final  judgment  which  has  been  put  into  His  hands. 
So  that  Advent  is  the  forerunner  of  doom.  Every  re- 
turn of  it  should  remind  us  of  that  last  return,  when 
His  coming  shall  no  longer  wear  the  humility  of  a  ser- 
vant's form,  or  be  the  mere  recollection  of  an  unseen 
ruler — of  that  time  when  He  cometh  in  clouds  with  the 
voice  of  the  Archangel  and  with  the  trump  of  doom. 

Surely  each  Advent  preaches  preparation  against  that 
last  and  most  fearful  summons.  For  then  will  the 
Parable  have  its  fulfilment,  "  Behold,  the  bridegroom 
cometh,  go  ye  out  to  meet  Him."  Then  will  His 
entrance  be  attended,  not  merely  by  such  chance 
crowds  as  followed  Him  into  J erusalem,  but  by  the  whole 
army  of  His  servants  who  have  lived  since  time  began. 
Then  will  He  be  guarded,  not  merely  by  a  few  poor 
fishermen,  as  once  when  He  rode  "  upon  an  ass,  and  a 
colt  the  foal  of  an  ass,"  but  by  angels  and  archangels  and 
all  the  hosts  of  heaven,  encircling  Him  as  though  with  a 
sea  of  fire.  Then  will  those.  His  faithful  servants,  who 
once  waited  upon  His  humble  steps,  shine  among  them 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.  Oh  what  a  glorious  and 
fearful  entrance  will  that  be,  when  the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  before  Him  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat !  For  then  shall  every 
eye  see  Him,  and  they  also,  which  pierced  Him,  and  all 
kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  Him.  And 
must  not  you  or  I  be  there  ?  Must  not  we  keep  that 
last  Advent?  Then  let  us  prepare  betimes  for  Our  Lord's 
return,  lest  coming  suddenly  He  find  us  sleeping. 


SEEMOX  Y. 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


EOMANS  XIII.  14. 

Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the 
flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof ^ 

Thus  closes  the  Apostle's  exhortation  to  a  life  of 
holiness.  This  is  the  summing  up  of  what  he  desired. 
It  is  read  to-day,*  being  Advent  Sunday,  that  we  may 
remember  the  rule  of  conduct,  which  we  should  follow 
during  the  coming  year.  Let  us  first  look  at  tha 
Apostle's  exhortations :  and  then,  secondly,  inquire 
through  what  means  they  are  to  take  effect. 

I.  What  the  Apostle  recommends  is  a  hfe  of  j^erfec- 
tion.  "  Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another  : 
for  he  that  loveth  another  has  fulfilled  the  law."  He 
does  not  desire  merely  our  escape  from  punishment,  he 
wishes  us  to  fulfil  the  law.  Its  whole  contents  are 
gathered  together  in  what  may  be  expected  from  a 
Christian.  It  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying, 
namely,  "  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself" 
To  seek  always  to  benefit  others  as  naturally  as  we 
benefit  ourselves,  to  do  to  others  exactly  as  we  should 
wish  to  be  done  by,  to  live  in  perfect  peace,  affection, 

*  Preached  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent. 


62 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


openness,  sincerity  with  all  men — what  can  be  better 
or  more  desirable  than  this  ?  What  can  more  contribute 
to  our  present  peace,  as  well  as  to  our  future  happi- 
ness ?  Look  at  a  friendly,  kind,  simple-hearted  man — 
you  may  see  the  calmness  of  his  mind  in  the  tranquillity 
of  his  countenance.  And  then,  as  connected  with  this, 
and  as  contributing  to  it,  the  Apostle  calls  men  to  that 
mastery  over  their  bodily  appetites,  without  which  such 
peace  of  mind,  and  such  fairness  towards  others,  can 
never  be  secured.  For  a  man's  good  conduct  towards  his 
neighbours  cannot  be  reckoned  on,  unless  he  possesses 
such  self-denial  as  to  have  mastery  over  himself  Meie 
good-nature  may  lead  a  man  to  wish  well  towards  others, 
but  self-denial  also  is  needed  before  he  will  put  himself 
out  of  the  way  for  their  sakes.  The  Christian,  there- 
fore, must  not  "  make  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil 
the  lusts  thereof i.  e,  he  must  not  suppose  that  his 
body's  appetite  is  the  first  thing  which  is  to  be  regarded. 
On  the  contrary,  his  body  is  to  be  brought  into  subjec- 
tion :  it  must  be  the  servant  of  his  soul :  his  corrupt 
appetite  must  be  restrained :  he  must  mortify  his  mem- 
bers, which  are  upon  the  earth,  and  follow  the  guidance 
of  his  higher  nature.  Our  very  reason  tells  us  that 
this  is  the  right  course.  It  says  that  our  body  should 
be  under  subjection  to  our  mind.  And  this  is  part  of 
the  Apostle's  advice.  The  law  of  love  towards  our 
brethren  :  the  law  of  purity  in  ourselves.  Kindness 
and  forbearance  towards  others :  command  over  our- 
selves. And  what  can  be  better  and  happier  than  such 
a  life  ?  Is  it  not  free  from  abundant  evils,  by  which  a 
sinful  and  sensual  course  is  beset  ?  To  say  nothing 
of  its  leading  to  health  and  prosperity,  has  it  not  the 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


63 


advantage  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  the  favour  of 
God?  Can  anything  be  more  material  to  us  than  to 
feel  inwardly  the  approval  of  our  own  minds,  and  to 
secure  the  approbation  of  that  Supreme  Judge,  who 
beholds  all  our  actions  ?  The  Apostle's  advice,  then, 
is  what  our  own  judgment  must  admit  to  be  wise. 

But  perhaps  a  man  says,  it  is  good  advice,  certainly, 
but  hard  to  follow.  But  has  no  one  ever  followed  it  ? 
You  will  say,  perhaps,  that  not  the  best  men  whom  you 
meet  with  follow  it  completely.  This  perfect  mastery 
over  themselves — this  entire  thought  for  others — is 
wdiat  none  attain  to.  But  has  no  one  acted  up  perfectly 
to  this  rule  ?  Has  there  been  no  example  among  men 
of  perfect  self-command  and  unlimited  charity  ?  Yes, 
surely  one  such  example  has  been  set.  And  if  one 
such  example  has  been  set,  why  should  not  every  body 
else  follow  it  ?  And  such  an  example  has  been  set  by 
the  Head  and  Leader  of  the  Christian  body,  whom  on 
that  account  we  are  expressly  commanded  to  follow, 
and  who  is  everyw^here  set  forth  as  the  model  for  our 
imitation.  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also 
in  Christ  Jesus."  "  Because  Christ  also  suffered  for  us, 
leaving  as  an  example,  that  ye  should  follow  His  steps." 
Therefore  He  says,  "  take  My  yoke  upon  you,  and 
learn  of  Me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  ye 
shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls." 

Now  what  can  we  do  better  than  follow  in  such  steps? 
"  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him,  ought  himself  also 
so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked."  What  can  God  and 
man  more  fitly  require  of  us  than  this  ?  Here  is  the 
Head  and  Pattern  of  our  race,  possessing  a  man's  nature 
as  we  do ;  since  He  trod  this  path,  what  better  can  we 


64 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


do  than  follow  Him?  "  Consider  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus,  who  was  faithful 
to  Him  that  appointed  Him."  And  therefore  was  He 
looked  upon  with  perfect  favour  by  Almighty  God. 
When  He  entered  upon  His  ministry  there  came  forth 
those  divine  words,  which  testified  to  the  completeness 
of  His  service.  "  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased."  And  the  same  testimony  was  re- 
peated on  the  mount  of  Transfiguration.  So  that  here 
we  see  the  utmost  which  is  required  of  men.  In  Him 
was  fulfilled  God's  statement  by  the  prophet :  He  is 
"  Mine  elect,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth."  And 
therefore,  if  we  would  secure  God's  favour,  and  act 
according  to  the  judgment  of  man's  reason,  we  have 
but  to  follow  the  example  which  He  has  set  forth.  We 
cannot  say  that  imperfection  is  inconceivable,  because 
here  it  has  been  exhibited.  Here  is  the  Head  of  the 
Christian  family,  the  pattern  of  mankind :  what  have 
we  to  do,  but  what  He  has  done  ?  We  see  how  our 
common  nature  should  be  treated  :  we  see  the  path 
opened  :  we  discern  the  obedience  which  we  ought  to 
render :  we  know  how  we  should  behave  towards  God 
and  towards  one  another.  The  perfection  and  mor'el 
of  man's  life  was  shown  us  in  Plim,  who  therefore  is 
called  the  Son  of  Man ;  and  no  more  is  required  of  any 
one  than  to  follow  it.  This  is  the  rule  which  we  are  to 
take ;  let  us  act  as  He  has  done,  and  we  shall  conform 
perfectly  to  those  lessons  of  love  and  self-denial  which 
the  Apostles  set  forth.  Here  is  the  example  of  that 
good  life  which  is  recommended  to  us  :  here  is  the  per- 
fection of  manhood  exhibited  for  our  imitation. 

II.  So  much,  then,  for  the  Apostle's  recommenda- 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


65 


tions  :  let  us  consider,  secondty,  by  what  means  they 
are  to  be  obeyed.  How  are  we  to  imitate  Christ  Our 
Lord  ?  By  what  means  are  we  to  copy  this  perfect 
pattern  which  is  proposed  for  our  imitation  ?  True, 
we  must  all  confess  that  in  the  Son  of  Man,  in  J esus  of 
Nazareth,  is  set  forth  the  very  pattern  of  man's  nature, 
the  very  example  and  model  of  what  man  ought  to  be 
— we  see  in  Him  the  one  only  instance  of  a  human 
being,  who  from  His  youth  deserved  truly  to  be  in 
favour  with  God  and  men.  But  how  can  we  imitate 
so  perfect  an  example  ?  How  can  this  mind  be  in  us 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  Now  before  we  can 
properly  answer  this  question,  we  must  ask  how  such 
a  mind  came  to  be  in  Him.  Was  He,  to  begin  with, 
just  like  one  of  us  ?  Was  He  a  mere  man,  brethren, 
like  you  and  like  me  ?  If  He  had  no  more  to  begin 
than  we  have,  then  no  doubt  we  might  come,  in  the 
end,  to  be  such  an  one  as  He  was.  No  one  is  there 
among  us  but  might  become  a  king,  or  an  emperor, 
because  kings  and  emperors,  to  begin  with,  have  often 
been  .such  as  ourselves.  But  with  Christ  Our  Lord  it 
was  otherwise.  He  was  not,  to  begin  with,  such  only 
as  ourselves.  A  man  indeed  He  was,  as  we  are,  but 
not  a  man  only.  He  was  also  God  over  all,  blessed  for 
ever.  And  that  which  enabled  Him  to  set  forth  man's 
nature  in  its  perfectness,  was  that  nature  of  Godhead 
which  He  descended  to  unite  to  it. 

At  the  season  which  we  are  now  approaching,  had 
that  mystery  its  completion,  whereof  notice  had  before 
been  given  to  his  Virgin  Mother :  "  the  Holy  Ghost 
shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest 
shall  overshadow  thee ;  therefore,  also,  that  Holy  Thing, 


66 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
God."  When  Elijah's  sacrifice  was  consumed  on  Horeb, 
why  did  it  kindle  into  flame,  while  the  altars  of  Baal's 
priests  were  silent  and  untouched  ?  Was  there  any 
difference  in  the  materials  which  Elijah  had  employed : 
had  he  not  used  stones  and  wood  as  they  had  ?  The 
difference  was  that  the  fire  of  God  came  down  upon  it. 
And  that  which  rendered  the  Son  of  Man  so  unlike 
all  other  of  Adam's  children  was,  that  in  His  person 
God  Himself  took  up  His  dwelling  among  men.  "  The 
Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld 
His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only-legotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  Through  virtue,  then, 
of  that  indwelling  Godhead,  which  was  one  with  it,  did 
manhood  also  become  perfect.  Thus  was  the  perfect 
pattern  exhibited  of  our  lower  nature.  Thus  was  there 
found  one,  whose  meat  was  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that 
sent  Him,  and  to  finish  His  work.  Thus  was  the 
human  will  so  perfectly  resigned  to  the  divine  will, 
that  He  could  say  with  complete  resignation,  "  never- 
theless, not  My  will,  but  thine  be  done." 

This  finished  example,  then,  of  what  man  should 
seek  after,  was  not  attained  through  the  mere  perfec- 
tion of  the  powers  of  nature,  but  because  a  greater 
power  than  nature  was  bestowed  upon  it  from  above. 
This  was  that  birth  from  above,  that  power  above 
nature,  which  came  down  into  our  race  in  the  person  of 
the  God-man,  Jesus  Christ  Our  Lord,  just  as  fire  came 
down  on  Elijah's  sacrifice,  that  so  God's  grace  and 
pardon  might  extend  itself  from  Him  and  all  His 
brethren.  This  was  the  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  the 
angel  declared  should  be  to  all  people.    For  by  virtue 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


67 


of  that  perfect  obedience  of  Avhich  His  Manhood  was 
rendered  capable,  did  e  H&st  make  satisfaction  on  the 
cross  for  all  His  brethren — for  us  His  fellow  descendants 
from  fallen  Adam  ;  and  then,  secondly,  did  He  bestow 
that  union  with  Himself,  by  which  our  nature  also  may 
be  kindled  into  obedience.  In  Him  has  appeared  that 
grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  to  all  men,  that 
denying  ungodhness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present  world. 

And  this  answers  the  question,  how  are  we  to  imitate 
(Jhrist.  If  that  perfect  love,  and  that  unfailing  obe- 
dience, whereby  He  made  manhood  so  lovely,  whereby 
He  rendered  to  His  Father  such  perfect  honour,  had 
been  attained  by  Him  merely  through  human  powers, 
then  might  human  powers  enable  us  to  imitate  it.  But 
since  it  was  a  di\'ine  power  which  first  kindled  such  grace 
in  man's  nature,  by  a  divine  power  only  can  it  be  main- 
tained. That  movement  which  was  given  to  our  com- 
mon nature  m  Him,  must  reach  on  to  us.  He  had  it 
through  personal  union  with  Godhead ;  we  must  have 
it  through  union  with  Him  by  sanctification  and  grace- 

Now  this  is  the  purpose  for  which  Holy  Sacraments 
have  been  given  to  us.  They  are  the  means  whereby 
that  movement,  which  was  given  to  our  nature  at  large 
when  Christ  took  manhood,  may  be  extended  to  you 
and  me  for  om^  individual  welfare.  When  St.  Paul 
reminds  the  Galatians  of  their  calling  in  Christ,  he 
speaks  to  them  as  "  my  httle  children,  of  whom  I  tra- 
vail in  birth  again,  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you."  And 
so  must  it  be  with  each  one  of  us.  The  act  whereby 
Christ  joins  Himself  to  every  believer  is  as  truly  a  buth 
from  above,  it  is  as  really  the  bestowiog  a  new  and 


68 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


divine  life,  as  was  His  miraculous  conception  in  the 
Virgin's  womb.  When  Christ  took  our  nature  this  work 
was  done  once  for  all,  on  behalf  of  all  mankind ;  when 
Christ  gives  Himself  to  each  single  believer  it  is  done 
separately  for  his  individual  benefit.  But  it  depends 
upon  the  same  gracious  power :  that  which  gives  to 
each  of  us  a  new  birth  into  grace,  is  Christ  bestowing 
Himself  upon  us  by  actual  union,  even  as  He  gave 
Himself  to  the  open  world  by  that  miraculous  birth 
of  which  this  season  of  Advent  reminds  us.  Some  per- 
sons look  upon  the  new  birth  into  Christ  as  depending 
only  on  their  inward  feelings,  and  as  wrought  entirely 
by  meditation  within  their  own  minds.  Inward  feeling 
is  necessary,  but  it  cannot  have  its  full  efiect  unless 
Christ  truly  comes  to  us  from  wdtliout,  with  that  same 
divine  power,  with  which  He  appeared  of  old  time  on 
the  mount  or  in  the  temple. 

Do  you  ask,  then,  how  it  is  that  we  can  follow  that 
perfect  pattern  which  is  given  to  us  in  Christ  ?  How 
we  can  attain  to  that  holy  and  happy  state,  of  which 
the  one  true  man  has  set  the  example  ?  We  can  do  it 
only  if  that  divine  power,  which  made  His  obedience  to 
be  above  that- of  nature,  is  present  also  for  the  renewal 
of  ourselves.  Now  of  this  truth  it  is  that  the  text  re- 
minds us.  For  it  sums  up  the  directions  to  a  holy  life 
by  setting  forth  its  means.  "  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the 
lusts  thereof"  How  can  we  put  on  Christ  ?  By  that 
real  union  with  Him,  which  is  bestowed  in  Sacraments 
on  those  who  with  faith  and  repentance  seek  Him  in- 
deed. For  this  is  no  mere  slioio  of  union,  no  bare 
imitation  of  His  holy  life,  no  mere  bearing  His  name  or 


THE  GREAT  EXAMPLE. 


69 


accepting  His  allegiance — on  those  who  tJius  come  to 
Him  in  holy  ordinances,  does  He  bestow  that  actual 
union,  whereby  they  become  "  members  of  His  body  ; 
of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones."  Thus  is  He  Hims  If, 
in  whom  was  once  exhibited  the  perfection  of  man's 
nature,  born  over  again  in  all  His  brethren.  Oh  blessed 
union,  oh  di^dne  gift,  whereby  the  sinful  children  of 
fallen  Adam  "  may  be  made  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature,  having  escaped  the  corruption  which  is  in  the 
world  through  lust." 

For  this  benefit,  brethren,  many  of  you  are  to-day,  I 
trust,  seeking.  You  are  about  to  approach  the  Lord's 
table,  that  thereby  you  may  put  on  Christ  Our  Lord. 
You  feel,  you  cannot  but  feel,  how  hard  it  is  to  follow 
Christ.  His  perfect  pattern.  His  divine  excellence,  all 
the  graces  and  purity  of  His  spotless  obedience,  we  can 
admire,  but  we  cannot  imitate.  And  yet  we  must 
imitate  His  example,  if  we  would  have  part  in  the 
ransom  which  He  has  provided  for  our  salvation.  For 
he  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him,  ought  himself  also 
so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked."  Let  us  seek,  then,  to 
be  renewed  by  that  inward  power,  whereby  we  likewise 
may  be  fashioned  after  the  pattern  of  Himself.  Let  us 
put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  that  our  sinful  bodies 
may  be  made  clean  by  His  Body,  and  our  souls  washed 
through  His  most  precious  blood."  Let  us  drink  deep 
of  the  fountain  of  life,  that  we  likewise  may  be  quick- 
ened and  live.  We  cannot  imitate,  unless  we  are  one 
with  Him ;  nor  follow,  unless  we  are  renewed  by  Him ; 
nor  serve,  miless  we  are  sustained  by  Him.  Let  Him 
be  our  life,  our  peace,  our  hope,  our  all. 


SEEMON  VI. 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


Romans  xv.  8. 

I  say  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the 
truth  of  Godj  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the  fathers.''^ 

The  importance  of  Holy  Scripture  is  taught  us  in  to- 
day's* Collect  and  to-day's  Epistle.  And  yet  it  is 
brought  forward  in  a  way  which  leads  especially  to  the 
subject  of  this  present  season — the  coming  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  flesh, — "the  promises  made  unto  the  fa- 
thers,"— all  those  hopes  and  anticipations  which  filled 
up  the  Old  Testament,  had  their  completion  when  the 
Son  of  God  put  on  the  garment  of  our  nature — when 
He  was  "  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law."  Let 
us  look,  brethren,  at  Holy  Scripture  to-day  in  this  Hght ; 
let  us  consider  how  it  had  its  completion  in  Christ. 

And  first,  let  it  be  observed  what  a  peculiarity  there 
is  in  the  scriptural  way  of  teaching  truth.  What  is  the 
part  of  Holy  Writ  to  which  men  in  general  look  first 
for  instruction  ?  Plainly,  I  suppose  the  Gospels.  This 
is  sufficiently  shown  surely  by  our  calling  the  whole 
Bible  by  the  name  of  the  Gospel.    We  naturally  think 

*  Preached  on  the  Second  Sunday  in  Advent,  1848. 


72 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


of  that  ^Yhicll  attracts  most  attention.  Now  of  what 
are  the  Gospels  composed  ?  If  men  had  been  employed 
to  give  instruction  to  their  brethrenj  it  is  likely  that 
they  would  have  put  together  a  Book,  formed  after  the 
model  of  Solomon's  Proverbs.  Two  most  instructive 
books  are  foimd  in  the  Apocrypha — Wisdom  and  Eccle- 
siasticus — and  both  of  them  resemble  the  Proverbs. 
They  contain  advice  what  men  ought  to  do :  you  find 
in  them  rules  for  different  conditions  and  states  of  life, 
for  different  ages  and  circumstances.  But  what  a  con- 
trast is  offered  by  the  Gospels.  What  is  their  subject  ? 
The  first  verse  of  St.  Mark  may  tell  you :  "  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Gospel,  or  good  tidings  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God."  They  are  all  about  Him — His  origin, 
birth,  education,  ministry,  death,  and  resurrection — 
these  make  up  the  Gospels ;  and  such  instructions  as 
they  contain  come  in  by  the  way,  and  are  all  built  upon 
the  words  and  doings  of  Christ  our  Saviour.  It  is  clear 
that  the  main  purpose  of  the  Gospels  is  to  make  known 
Christ ;  our  duty  and  happiness  is  alwaj^s  spoken  of  as 
depending  upon  our  standing  rightly  with  Him :  let 
His  nature,  actions,  character,  and  instructions  be  pro- 
perly received,  and  accepted  with  living  faith,  and  we 
have  what  is  essential  both  for  this  world,  and  the  world 
to  come.  The  instructions  which  we  have  from  Holy 
Scripture,  the  things  which  we  are  called  on  to  believe, 
are  not  about  ourselves,  but  about  Him ;  we  must  listen 
to  Him  of  course  with  reverence  and  obedience,  we 
must  do  His  will,  if  we  would  profit  by  His  coming,  but 
on  Himself,  on  His  nature  and  excellence  depends  all 
which  we  are  to  learn  concerning  Him. 

2ndly — We  see  this  then  in  the  Gospels :  and  now 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


73 


turn  your  thoughts  to  the  Creed  or  Belief.    Every  time 
you  join  in  the  Church's  ser\dce5  you  are  called  upon  to 
declare  your  belief  in  the  Creed.    And  those  who  can- 
not join  in  the  Church's  service,  would  do  well  to  use 
the  Creed  in  their  private  prayers  as  an  act  of  Faith  in 
God.    You  may  see  how  much  is  made  of  it,  because 
it  is  that  which  is  required  of  those  who  are  first  re- 
ceived into  the  Church  by  Baptism.    Before  children 
are  admitted  by  Baptism  to  the  privilege  of  being  Chris- 
tians, those  who  bring  them  must  promise  for  them  that 
they  shall  receive  the  Articles  of  the  Christian  Faith. 
This  promise  refers,  of  course,  to  the  education  which 
they  are  about 'to  have;  it  is  a  promise  by  those  who 
bring  them  to  be  baptized,  that  they  shall  be  brought 
up  as  Christians.    Now,  that  which  is  required  on  this 
head  in  the  way  of  belief,  is  that  they  should  receive 
the  Creed.    The  like  use  is  ordered  to  be  made  of  the 
Creed,  when  the  Minister  visits  the  sick :  "  I  shall  re- 
hearse to  you,"  he  is  ordered  to  say,  "  the  Articles  of 
our  Faith,  that  you  may  know  whether  you  do  believe 
as  a  Christian  man  should  or  no."    The  importance, 
therefore,  of  the  Creed  is  shown  by  what  happens  at 
the  beginning  of  life,  and  by  what  happens  at  the 
end  of  it.     And  what  is  the  Creed  made  up  of? 
Does  it  tell  us  chiefly  about  those  things  which  we  get 
by  Christ  ?    No  doubt  it  mentions  them.      I  beheve 
in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  communion  of  Saints, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
and  the  Life  everlasting."    Those  things  which  we  gain 
by  Christ's  coming  are  found  at  the  end  of  the  Creed. 
But  the  main  part  of  it — its  largest  portion — all  its  first 
and  chief  statements  refer  to  Our  Lord's  nature  in  itself, 

6 


74 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


and  to  the  being  and  character  of  the  other  Persons  in 
the  Ever-Blessed  and  undivided  Trinity.  The  salva- 
tion of  mankind  through  Christ's  death,  the  atonement 
which  is  thus  provided  for  sinners,  the  sanctification  of 
soul  and  body  through  the  gifts  of  grace — all  these 
things  followed  from  Christ's  life  and  death  for  us — 
they  constitute  our  main  privilege  in  this  world,  and 
our  hope  in  the  world  to  come — but  it  is  Christ  Him- 
self, His  character  and  actions,  which  are  stated  as  the 
very  foundation  of  belief,  and  basis  of  our  salvation. 

Such  are  some  of  the  circumstances,  which  must 
strike  every  one,  in  the  manner  wherein  we  are  taught 
both  by  Scripture,  and  by  the  Creed.  The  first  thing 
which  is  brought  before  us  is  not  how  we  are  to  be 
saved,  but  what  are  those  things  which  are  to  save  us. 
Now,  what  are  we  to  gather  from  the  manner  in  which 
instruction  is  thus  conveyed  to  us  ?  It  shows,  surely, 
that  our  salvation  does  not  depend  only  on  what  goes 
on  within  us,  but  also  on  what  goes  on  without  us.  By 
what  goes  on  within  us,  is  meant,  of  course,  our  own 
feelings,  desires,  thoughts,  and  actions.  We  all  know 
of  what  moment  these  things  are.  They  make  up  our- 
selves, as  it  were :  they  separate  us  from  the  rest  of 
God's  creatures.  We  can  easily  see  what  effect  they 
will  have  upon  our  future  happiness.  This  is  a  point 
of  which  our  own  conscience  assures  us.  A  man  who 
is  neglecting  God,  who  never  prays  earnestly,  who  lives 
in  open  excess  or  secret  lust,  who  hates  and  injures 
others,  knows  well  in  his  inner  heart  that  it  is  not  all 
right  with  him;  he  feels  that  he  has  a  sickness  in  his 
heart,  which  must  in  the  end  overtake  and  destroy  him. 
Such  a  man  hardly  wants  the  preacher's  words  to  re- 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


75 


mind  him,  "  be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out."  His 
own  conscience  is  always  teaching  him  the  same  truth. 
Now  this  is  what  is  meant  by  that  part  of  religion, 
which  is  within  a  man.  It  is  that  which  depends  on 
the  calling,  forth  his  own  feehngs  to  tell  him  the  impor- 
tance of  being  saved,  and  his  own  conscience  to  tell  him 
whether  he  is  walking  with  God.  But  the  way  in  which 
Scripture  teaches  us,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Creed 
teaches  us,  show  that  besides  this,  we  must  consider 
those  things  which  are  without  us.  Christ  Our  Lord 
has  truly  come  into  the  world  :  He  really  brings  us  cer- 
tain blessings :  we  need  to  take  account  of  them,  and 
make  use  of  them. 

Let  us  take  an  example.  Suppose  a  man  fancied 
himself  ill,  but  was  not.  When  his  friends  visited  him, 
they  would  say,  the  man's  sickness  is  only  in  his  own 
fancy ;  he  thinks  himself  ill,  and  is  not.  His  cure  must 
come  entirely  from  within.  If  we  can  get  him  to  sup- 
pose he  is  well,  he  will  be  so.  In  such  a  case  his  friends 
would  try,  probably,  to  keep  up  his  spirits ;  and  as  soon 
as  they  had  persuaded  him  to  think  himself  well,  he 
would  be  so.  For  his  sickness  lay  only  in  his  own 
thoughts.  But  suppose  the  same  friends  to  visit  one 
who  was  really  sick.  Let  the  man  be  struggling  with 
some  deadly  disorder,  which  shook  his  body,  and  threat- 
ened his  life.  It  would  be  vain  then  to  say  to  the  man, 
"  fancy  yourself  well,  and  you  will  be  so."  Why  would 
this  case  differ  from  the  other?  Because  there  would 
be  some  real  sickness  which  would  need  to  be  removed ; 
some  actual  enemy  would  have  entered  into  the  little 
kingdom  of  the  man's  life,  and  must  be  got  rid  of  before 
he  could  be  in  safety.    And,  therefore,  if  some  wise 


76 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


physician  drew  near,  some  one  who  had  true  mastery 
over  life  and  death,  he  would  apply  powerful  remedies, 
such  as  could  drive  out  death  from  the  man's  body,  and 
restore  the  emjDire  of  life. 

You  see  the  difference  between  a  case  in  which  the 
cure  is  to  come  entirely  from  within,  and  one  in  which 
it  must  come  to  us  in  the  first  instance  from  without. 
Now  which  case  is  ours  ?  Are  we  suffering  from  a  fan- 
cied sickness,  or  a  real  one?  Are  sin  and  death  only 
supposed,  or  are  they  true  enemies  ?  Have  they  not 
entered  into  the  house  of  our  life,  and  got  possession  of 
it  ?  Do  not  men  feel  their  presence  always  and  every- 
where ?  Do  they  not  cleave  to  men  at  home  and  in  the 
field,  in  the  secret  chamber  as  the  open  market-place  ? 
Do  they  not  obstruct  our  prayers  to  God,  as  well  as 
defile  our  intercourse  with  our  neighbours?  Surely 
these  are  real  evils,  which  we  cannot  get  rid  of,  without 
applying  to  that  Great  Physician,  who  only  is  able  to 
cure  our  souls.  And  this  it  is  which  makes  the  acts 
and  nature  of  Christ  Our  Lord  of  such  moment  to  us^ 
We  could  have  no  cure  for  these  evils,  unless  those 
things  had  been  truly  done  outside  of  us,  which  the 
continual  course  of  the  Church's  year  calls  upon  us  to 
believe.  It  were  useless  for  us  to  look  for  inward  heal- 
ing, unless  the  One  Great  Physician,  who  alone  can 
cure,  mercifully  drew  near  to  help  us.  And  this  is  what 
He  began  to  do  by  His  birth,  what  He  went  on  to  do 
by  His  death,  and  does  still  by  His  intercession  in 
Heaven,  and  His  presence  in  the  ordinances  of  the 
Gospel.  That  which  is  required,  then,  as  the  founda- 
tion of  our  faith,  is  that  Christ  our  Lord  should  be  truly 
doing,  and  have  truly  done  for  us,  those  things,  which 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


77 


Scripture  sets  forth  and  the  Creed  reveals.  Our  disease 
is  real,  so  must  be  our  cure  :  we  want  some  actual  help, 
we  must  come  to  Him  to  find  it. 

This  is  the  great  thing  which  is  going  on  in  heaven 
and  earth.  Worldly  people  have  their  eyes  fixed  on  a 
thousand  other  objects.  Some  are  asking  what  kings 
are  in  danger,  what  new  states  are  likely  to  rise  up  and 
gain  power  among  the  nations.  Men  of  business  are 
considering  how  they  may  lay  out  their  money  to  the 
best  account,  so  as  to  have  the  largest  return.  Some  of 
you  probably  are  planning  how  to  improve  your  lands, 
so  that  they  may  yield  a  larger  return.  Others  are 
considering  what  they  shall  do  when  they  are  a  few 
years  older,  what  employment  they  shall  follow,  what 
master  they  shall  serve.  But  all  this  time  the  one  only 
real,  lasting,  and  important  work  is  going  on  in  the 
midst  of  us  unseen — God's  great  controversy  with  man- 
kind, and  Christ's  work  of  intercession  and  grace,  by 
which  He  is  saving  from  the  fallen  world  those  whom 
by  grace  and  faith  He  truly  joins  to  Him.  This  is  the 
one  great  reality ;  and  it  depends  on  the  truth  of  those 
past  actions  of  Christ,  which  this  season  of  Advent 
brings  before  us,  and  of  those  things  which  He  con- 
tinues to  do  through  the  ordinances  of  His  grace.  At 
this  time  did  the  Second  Person  in  the  Blessed  Trinitv, 
God  the  Son,  come  down  from  heaven  to  earth  for  our 
salvation,  and  take  part  in  man's  nature,  in  the  womb 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Through  that  manhood  which 
He  took,  was  He  able  to  die,  and  rise  again  for  us.  And 
now  that  He  has  gone  up  into  Heaven,  He  truly  offers 
up  the  prayers  of  all  his  servants,  and  He  is  truly  pre- 
sent with  us  in  His  Church's  worship,  wherein  we  have 


* 


78  THE  GOSrEL  A  REALITY. 

assurance  of  meeting  Him  as  our  Saviour.  And  He 
truly  feeds  us  with  that  precious  food  of  His  Body  and 
Blood,  which,  by  taking  our  nature,  He  has  made  the 
means  of  our  soul's  nourishment.  These  are  the  things 
which  Holy  Scripture  and  the  Creed  set  before  us : 
things,  the  importance  of  which  depends  on  their 
truth;  wdiich  are  not  brought  about  by  ourselves, 
though  our  life  depends  upon  them. 

And  what  is  meant  by  a  living  faith  in  them  ?  We 
do  an  act  of  faith  every  time  that  with  a  true  heart  we 
declare  we  are  convinced  of  them.  When  you  repeated 
the  Creed  to-day,  if  you  meant  what  you  said — if  you 
felt  that  these  things  were  true,  and  were  prepared  to 
do  and  suffer  for  them — then  you  made  an  act  of  faith. 
And  you  can  make  an  act  of  faith  every  time  you  say 
your  prayers,  by  repeating  the  Creed  with  earnestness 
and  sincerity.  But  to  have  a  living  faith,  it  is  needful 
that  all  our  acts  should  be  acts  of  faith.  The  whole 
man,  both  in  soul  and  body,  must  be  fashioned  on  this 
principle.  We  must  live  like  persons  who  always  saw 
Christ  to  be  present,  and  always  believed  accordingly. 
If  we  went  into  a  King's  palace,  and  saw  him  before  us, 
what  decency,  respect,  carefulness,  would  there  be  in 
our  words  and  actions.  The  real  believer  is  always  in 
the  presence  of  God.  Christ  Our  Lord,  who  has  mer- 
cifully taken  our  nature  to  be  a  satisfaction  for  our  sins, 
is  ever  near  and  before  him.  And  especially  when  he 
enters  into  the  King's  courts,  into  Christ's  place  of 
peculiar  presence,  it  is  with  such  love,  reverence,  and 
devotion,  as  shows  that  his  faith  is  real.  You  may  see 
when  he  comes  here,  that  he  truly  discerns  that  gra- 
cious Master,  who  has  mercifully  done  so  much  for  his 


THE  GOSPEL  A  REALITY. 


79 


sake.  The  thought  of  Christ's  nearness  to  him  has 
all  his  heart.  There  are  no  wandering  looks,  no  idle 
thoughts — Christ  is  near.  The  sayings  of  Scripture  are 
true  sayings;  ard  He  who  promised  His  presence  to 
men  of  old  time  has  bestowed  it  upon  Christians. 


SEEMO^^"  YII. 


THE  WOMAX  OF  SAMARIA. 


St.  John,  iv.  10. 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her.  If  tJwii  knewest  the  gift  of  God, 
and  ucJio  it  is  that  saith  to  thee,  Give  me  to  drink;  thou  wouldest 
have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  have  given  thee  living  water.'' 

Such  words  spoke  our  Lord  to  the  woman  of  Saraaria. 
What  she  wanted,  was  to  quench  the  thirst  of  that 
sultry  climate.  She  had  betaken  herself  to  the  neigh- 
bouring well  of  the  Patriarch  Jacob.  For  how  else 
could  she  gain  what  was  necessary  to  life  ?  As  a  well 
were  useless  unless  there  were  hidden  waters,  so  with- 
out a  well,  thirst  could  not  be  satisfied.  Now,  through 
the  method  of  supplying  the  body's  wants,  did  Our 
Lord  instruct  her  respecting  the  replenishment  of  the 
soul.  For  what  is  it  which  all  men  require  but  salva- 
tion ?  How  can  we  get  it  but  from  Him  ?  He  is  the 
true  well-head,  the  source,  the  fountain,  to  whom  alone 
we  must  betake  ourselves  amidst  the  painful  wilderness 
of  life.  We  must  come  like  Israel  of  old,  who  drank 
of  that  rock  which  followed  them,  and  that  rock  was 
Christ."  Thus,  "  with  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out  of 
the  wells  of  salvation." 

Let  us  meditate  then,  by  God's  help,  upon  this  topic : 


82 


THE  WOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


First,  How  is  Christ  the  well  of  life  ?  Secondly,  How 
can  we  drink  of  Him  ? 

I.  Now  Christ  is  the  well  of  life,  because  in  Him 
those  original  perfections  on  which  life  depends,  have 
their  dwelling  in  the  world.  A  wonderful  saying  it 
seemed  to  this  woman  of  Sychar,  when  she  found  a 
stranger  sitting  upon  Jacob's  well,  that  in  His  Person 
was  a  "well  of  water,  springing  up  into  everlasting 
life,"  at  which  alone  the  spiritual  thirst  of  all  men 
could  be  satisfied.  For  she  knew  not  what  had  befallen 
that  other  daughter  of  Eve,  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  The 
Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the 
highest  shall  overshadow  thee ;  therefore  also  that  holy 
thing,  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God."  This  was  that  "gift  of  God,"  of  which 
Our  Lord  declares  that  she  was  ignorant.  She  knew 
indeed,  what  all  may  know  if  they  please,  that  in  God 
alone  is  the  principle  of  life ;  that  all  perfection  must 
have  its  root  in  Him ;  that  as  He  is  the  Author  of  our 
being,  so  is  He  the  very  source  and  spring  from  which 
holiness  and  happiness  have  their  origin.  For  "all 
things  were  created  by  Him,  and  for  Him,  and  He  is 
before  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things  consist."  And 
this  is  not  more  true  of  that  power  which  gives  exist- 
ence to  the  body,  than  of  that  holiness,  which  is  the 
life  of  the  soul.  For  God  alone,  as  Jeremiah  expresses 
it,  is  "  the  fountain  of  living  waters." 

But  how  should  this  fountain  have  its  dwelling  in  a 
man?  How  should  a  son  of  Adam  be  the  reservoir 
which  should  hold  it?  How  should  others  come  to  Him 
to  drink  ?  How  could  He  bestow  such  a  gift  on  those 
who  believed  on  Him,  that  out  of  their  "belly  should 


THE  WOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


83 


flow  rivers  of  living  water?"  This  it  was,  which  sur- 
IDrised  her.  For  to  be  the  natural  dwelling-place  of 
di\T.ne  life,  to  reflect  the  perfections  of  his  Maker — this 
was  man's  original  purpose  indeed,  but  it  had  been  lost 
by  the  sin  of  our  first  Parent.  Ever  since  that  time, 
man  has  been  no  natural  dweUing-place  of  divine  life. 
Neither  could  this  blessing  be  again  restored,  till  He 
who  was  God  as  well  as  man  came  to  dwell  in  our 
flesh,  and  through  the  greatness  of  His  divine  power, 
corrected  the  weakness  of  our  nature,  and  extinguished 
its  guilt. 

Now  this  the  Samaritan  woman  knew  not.  She  was 
not  aware  what  a  gift  had  been  bestowed  upon  our 
common  nature,  in  the  sacred  person  of  that  stranger, 
whom  she  chanced  to  meet.  She  understood  not  that 
the  common  being  which  she  and  we  possess,  had  under- 
gone as  great  a  change  in  Him  whom  she  saw  before 
her,  as  it  did  in  our  first  parents  through  their  origmal 
offence.  For  He  whom  she  beheld,  was  in  the  same 
condition  in  which  Adam  was  before  the  Fall.  No  sin 
had  ever  defiled  His  pure  nature.  There  had  flowed 
into  Him  those  gifts  of  holiness  and  grace,  which  have 
their  origin  in  God.  This  made  Him  that  well,  at 
which  all  men  must  quench  the  thirst  of  their  souls. 
Before  the  Patriarch  Jacob  had  opened  the  earth,  the 
men  of  Sychem  would  vainly  have  sought  water  in  that 
dry  region.  And  unless  the  Holy  Ghost  had  sanctified 
man's  nature  in  the  Virgin's  womb,  men  had  sought  in 
vain  for  that  spiritual  replenishment,  which  is  offered 
to  them  in  Christ.  Jacob's  well  was  a  reservoir  at 
which  those  waters  which  flow  from  the  abysses  of  the 
earth  might  truly  be  found  :  and  so  is  the  Virgin-born 


84 


THE  AYOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


the  receptacle  and  well-head  of  those  gifts  of  grace, 
which  issue  perpetually  from  the  throne  of  God.  There- 
fore was  He,  whom  she  found  sitting  there  in  the  sim- 
ple majesty  of  His  unattended  state,  the  true  Saviour 
of  the  world.  "  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and 
who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee.  Give  Me  to  drink,  thou 
wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  have  given 
thee  living  water." 

To  this  man,  then,  brethren,  let  us  seek  for  health ; 
for  though  our  nature  be  as  corrupt  as  the  river  of 
Egypt  after  Moses'  curse,  yet  in  Him  is  there  purity  to 
heal  it.  His  sanctified  manhood  is  that  life-giving 
stream  of  which  Ezekiel  spoke :  "  These  waters  issue 
out  towards  the  east  country,  and  go  down  into  the 
desert,  and  go  into  the  sea ;  which  being  brought  forth 
into  the  sea,  the  waters  shall  be  healed."  The  sea  is 
man's  nature  at  large,  which  this  stream  of  grace,  Christ 
Jesus  Our  Lord,  is  able  to  purify.  That  which  rendered 
Him  this  fountain  of  life  to  His  defiled  brethren,  was 
that  Personal  Oneness  with  Godhead,  through  which 
His  sacrifice  on  the  cross  sufficed  for  the  salvation  of  a 
world.  The  same  cause  which  made  His  death  so  pre- 
cious for  the  redemption  of  mankind,  made  His  life  so 
effectual  for  their  purification.  So  that  from  Him  pro- 
ceeds that  gift  of  spiritual  life,  by  which  all  His  ser- 
vants are  quickened.  And  in  Him  are  fulfilled  the 
Psalmist's  words,  "  With  Thee  is  the  well  of  life,  and 
in  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light." 

II.  The  true  well  of  life  then  is  the  Man  Christ  Je- 
sus. Through  Him  must  we  drink  of  those  sanctifying 
waters,  which  issue  from  the  throne  of  God.  But  how 
are  we  to  drink  of  Him?    If  He  were  God  only,  the 


1 


THE  WOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


85 


sole  way  in  which  we  could  receive  His  infinite  perfec- 
tions, would  be  through  those  inward  thoughts,  by 
which  we  can  meditate  upon  God.  How  else  than  by 
your  thoughts  can  you  hold  intercourse  natv/raUy  with 
Him  who  created  you  ?  He  speaks  to  men's  thoughts 
in  a  thousand  ways,  as  they  sit  in  the  house,  and  as 
they  walk  in  the  field.  God,  we  all  know,  is  very  near 
us.  And  as  He  speaks  to  us,  we  can  sjDeak  to  Him. 
But  He  who  was  sitting  on  Jacob's  well,  was  not  merely 
God.  Had  He  been  God  only,  how  should  the  woman 
of  Samaria  have  seen  and  addressed  Him  ?  He  was  a 
man,  as  well  as  God.  And  that  He  was  man,  was  the 
very  reason  why  He  is  the  well-head,  through  w^hom 
divine  graces  flow  into  us.  For  we  also  are  men.  So 
that  He  is  the  means  through  wdiich  those  things  which 
have  their  origin  in  God  are  communicated  to  our  na- 
ture. They  had  their  first  dwelling  in  Him,  to  whom 
they  belonged  by  right,  that  they  might  afterwards  be 
bestowed  on  us,  to  whom  they  are  given  by  favour. 

We  read  this  in  many  passages  of  Holy  Scripture. 
"  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given 
to  the  Son,"  that  is,  to  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  "  to  have 
life  in  Himself."  And  God  "  gave  Him  to  be  the  Head 
over  all  things  to  the  Church,  w^hicli  is  His  Body."  He 
is  "  the  Head,  from  whom  all  the  body,  by  joints  and 
bands"  has  "nourishment  ministered."  And  "of  His 
fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace  for  grace."  It 
is  no  other,  then,  than  He  who  was  found  sitting  there 
at  the  sultry  hour  of  noon,  who  is  Himself  that  well  of 
life,  from  which  the  children  of  men  must  draw  all 
quickening  virtue.  As  all  light  dwells  in  the  sun,  so 
in  the  Sun  of  righteousness  whom  this  woman  beheld, 


86 


THE  WOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


dwelt  all  the  graces  of  which  any  of  the  children  of 
men  can  be  possessed.  That  life  of  the  Spirit  which 
each  man  receives  in  his  degree,  dwelt  without  measure 
in  Him,  as  in  its  fountain.  All  light,  grace,  holiness, 
which  have  been  or  can  be  manifest  among  Adam's 
children,  were  gathered  together  as  in  their  source  and 
centre  in  the  Holy  Child  Jesus. 

Now  what  wonder  would  it  have  stirred  in  this  wo- 
man's bosom,  had  she  known  how  near  she  was  by 
bodily  presence  to  that  very  fount  of  life,  in  which  the 
holiness  of  Godhead  had  its  personal  dwelling.  What 
would  she  have  said,  could  she  have  fully  understood 
His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Fa- 
ther, full  of  grace  and  truth !    How  would  she  have 
cast  herself  at  His  feet — how  would  she  have  besought 
His  favour — how  inseparably  w^ould  she  have  waited 
on  His  steps — what  would  have  parted  her  from  His 
presence — how  could  she  have  expressed  her  love,  ho- 
nour, admiration,  and  reverence !    Brethren,  He  was 
not  more  near  to  her,  than  He  will  be  to  every  believ- 
ing worshipper  in  that  holy  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  to  which  to-day  you  are  invited.    For  do  you 
ask  how  you  are  to  drink  of  this  well  of  life,  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus  ?    In  the  first  place  you  must  believe  on 
Him.    "  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  water."    For  "  he  that  cometh  to 
Me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  Me 
shall  never  thirst."    And  "  as  many  as  received  Him, 
to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even 
to  them  which  believe  on  His  name." 

But  observe  the  effect  of  belief  in  Him.  Will  it  not 
lead  in  you  to  the  same  practical  results,  which  it  pro- 


THE  TTOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 


87 


duced  in  this  Samaritan  ?  She  believed  that  water  was 
to  be  found  in  Jacob's  well.  The  consequence  was^  that 
she  came  there  to  seek  it.  Her  belief  was  only  natural 
belief,  no  doubt,  and  there  was  good  ground  for  it :  but 
because  it  was  a  true  belief,  it  led  on  to  action.  And 
the  same  will  be  the  effect  of  our  behef,  if  we  have  as 
strong  a  faith  in  things  divine,  as  she  had  in  things 
earthly.  She  did  not  remain  in  the  city ;  but  being 
persuaded  that  water  was  to  be  had,  she  came  to  fetch 
it.  Have  we  as  firm  a  belief  that  in  the  God-man, 
whom  she  found  awaiting  her,  there  truly  dwells  the 
life  of  our  souls  ?  Do  we  count  as  certainly  to  obtain 
heavenly  gifts  from  union  with  Him,  as  she  did  to  fill 
her  vessel  with  the  earthly  element  ?  If  we  do,  we 
shall  come  with  not  less  faithful  earnestness  to  seek 
Him. 

Now  the  mean  whereby  we  may  hold  intercourse 
with  the  Son  of  Man,  is  expressly  declared  in  Holy 
Writ  to  be  that  heavenly  Feast,  wherein  He  gives  Him- 
self to  His  servants.  "  I  am  the  Hving  bread  which 
came  down  from  heaven ;  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread, 
he  shall  live  for  ever;  and  the  bread  which  I  will 
give  is  My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of 
the  world."  "  For  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and 
My  blood  is  drink  indeed."  The  Caphamaites,  to 
whom  these  words  were  originally  spoken,  supposed 
that  by  some  strange  transmutation,  Our  Lord's  sar 
cred  body  would  be  cut  into  morsels,  and  eaten  as 
natural  food  by  men.  But  the  divine  banquet  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  to  which  they  refer,  has  another 
signification.  It  is  that  heavenly  and  spiritual  union 
with  the  Son  of  Man,  whereby  He  gives  us  to  drink  of 


88  THE  WOMAN  OF  SAMARIA. 

tliat  well  of  life,  which  he  brought  do^wn  from  above 
for  the  healmg  of  a  world.  Thus  does  He  open  to  us 
that  "  spring  shut  up/'  that  "  fountain  sealed,"  whereby 
those  who  have  first  been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  may  afterwards  drink  of  the  never-failing  waters 
of  His  Spirit.  This  exhaustless  blessing  flows  forth 
from  the  throne  of  God,  for  the  benefit  of  sinners.  And 
this  gift  is  offered  to  the  faithful  in  the  Holy  Commu- 
nion of  Christ's  Body  and  Blood.  No  doubt  it  is  an 
awful  and  sacred  gift :  no  doubt  none  should  draw  near 
to  this  sacred  fountain  carelessly.  Happy  those  who, 
when  they  come,  discern  from  the  first  the  reality  of 
their  Master's  presence.  Happy  those,  who  have  not 
waited  like  this  woman  to  put  away  their  sins,  till  they 
suddenly  feel  the  awful  eye  of  Him  who  can  detect 
them.  For  this  is  no  common  feast,  no  trivial  ordi- 
nance. Therefore  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so 
let  him  eat  of  that  bread  and  drink  of  that  cup.  For 
by  these  means  does  whole  Christ  give  Himself  to  His 
people.  And  yet  how  can  men  who  need  grace  turn 
away  from  these  healing  waters  ?  Did  not  even  the 
Samaritans  flock  to  their  heavenly  guest?  Did  not 
they  beseech  Him  to  tarry  with  them  ?  Oh,  entreat 
Him  to  dwell  in  your  hearts !  Make  preparation  for 
Him  by  mortifying  every  sin  which  He  hates.  You 
know  not  whether  His  gracious  presence  may  be  again 
vouchsafed.  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  : 
if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will 
come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with 
Me." 


SERMON  VIII, 


CHRISTMAS. 


St.  MattheW;  y'lii.  16,  17. 

[Preached  in  York  Minster,  before  the  Judges  of  Assize,  December 

19,  1847.] 

^'  Se  cast  out  the  spirits  with  His  Word,  and  healed  all  that  were  sick: 
that  it  might  he  fulfilled  which  teas  spoken  hy  Esaias  the  prophet, 
saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmities,  and  hare  our  sicknesses." 

These  are  some  of  the  acts  of  Him,  whom  at  this 
season  the  Church  commends  to  your  memory.  For 
His  Advent  is  again  come  round,  the  rapid  months 
have  brought  you  back  to  it,  the  Royal  Child  is  once 
more  to  be  remembered,  the  Baptist's  errand  has  been 
again  fulfilled.  Let  us  approach  Him  with  the  fitting 
preparation  of  reverence  and  love,  remembering  that 
Eastern  Kings  came  from  far  to  seek  Him,  but  that  He 
was  first  found  by  the  humble  shepherds  of  his  native 
Jewry. 

Now  there  is  an  obvious  difficulty  in  the  apj)lication 
which  the  text  contains  of  Isaiah's  prophecy.  Do  these 
words  refer  only  to  the  mercifulness  of  Our  Lord's  ac- 
tions? Is  this  all  which  is  designed,  when  He  is  said 
to  have  borne  our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows  ?  Did 
He  merely  remove  them  as  the  physician  does  his  pa- 


90 


CHRISTMAS. 


tient's  illsj  or  as  Elislia  did  the  leprosy  of  Naaman  ?  If 
this  were  all,  we  might  well  ask,  in  the  first  instance, 
what  benefit  it  is  to  us?  These  miracles  have  long 
ceased :  this  healing  power  has  long  since  been  sus- 
pended. And  it  has  left  us  as  subject  as  before  to  the 
maladies  of  life  :  do  not  diseases  still  distress,  accidents 
alarm,  death  await  us?  Why  should  we  deck  our 
Churches  yearly  with  their  Christmas  honours,  if  it  had 
been  so  transient  a  blessing  which  was  bestowed  upon 
our  race  ? 

Again,  this  view  of  the  nature  of  Our  Lord's  blessings 
corresponds  not  to  that  which  ancient  prophecy  declared 
of  His  approach.  For  is  not  His  coming  the  middle 
point  of  the  world's  history ;  which  all  the  events  of  an- 
cient days  were  continually  showing  forth  ?  In  Him 
we  have  the  woman's  seed,  who  was  to  restore  what 
was  forfeited  by  the  Fall.  He  is  the  rod  which  was  to 
arise  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  on  which  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  should  rest.  He  was  to  grow  up  as  a  branch 
out  of  the  dry  ground  of  man's  fallen  nature.  Why  all 
this  preparation,  if  it  was  to  end  in  such  transient  ex- 
ercise of  healing  virtue  as  favoured  men  of  old  had  pos- 
sessed ? 

And  again,  how  far  is  this  from  satisfying  the  reli- 
gious wants  of  man's  nature  ?  Where  is  that  reconci- 
liation with  God,  of  which  we  stand  in  need  ?  How  is 
the  weakness  of  our  will  to  be  remedied  ?  What  atone- 
ment is  there  for  our  past  neglects  ?  How  can  we  have 
"  access  with  boldness"  through  the  faith  of  Him,  merely 
because  He  once  showed  himself  pitiful  to  objects  of 
distress  ? 

Once  more,  we  might  appeal  to  the  general  consent 


CHRISTMAS. 


91 


of  all  nations,  which  have  ever  witnessed  that  it  was 
onlv  throusrh  the  condescension  of  the  Godhead  that  we 
could  hope  for  the  elevation  of  humanity.  A  God  must 
descend  that  man  may  be  exalted.  This  has  been  the 
secret  meaning  of  all  mythologies,  which  have  still  pro- 
claimed, though  in  uncertain  and  faltering  voice,  that 
which  is  set  forth  fully  and  clearly  in  the  Advent  ser- 
vices of  the  Church. 

We  must  seek,  then,  for  some  deeper  meaning  for  St. 
Matthew's  words.  We  must  inquire  what  is  that  prin- 
ciple which  led  to  Our  Lord's  acts  of  compassion.  And 
we  shall  find  that  they  are  the  result  of  that  real  union 
between  God  and  man,  which  at  once  fulfils  the  declara- 
tions of  Scripture  and  satisfies  the  requirements  of  our 
nature.  And  this  is  no  fond  inquiry,  but  a  fmidamen- 
tal  truth  of  the  Gospel.  For  "  it  is  necessary  to  ever- 
lasting salvation  that  we  believe  rightly  the  Incarnation 
of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  For  the  right  faith  is,  that 
we  believe  and  confess  that  Our  Lord  J esus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  is  God  and  man."  Now  what  does  this 
statement  of  the  Creed  implj'  ?  In  the  fulness  of  time, 
the  Second  Person  in  the  Ever-Blessed  Trinity  took 
man's  nature  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  of  her 
substance,  that  as  He  had  at  first  made  man  out  of  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  so  He  might  re-make  him  out  of  the 
fallen  elements  of  his  frail  mortality.  Thus  did  He 
Himself  become  the  new  Adam,  the  second  man,  the 
pattern  and  type  of  mortahty,  the  first-begotten  from 
the  dead,  the  first-born  of  every  creature,  that  in  bring- 
ing many  sons  unto  glory,  the  Captain  of  their  salvation 
might  be  made  perfect  through  suffermgs. 

Thus  was  the  Eternal  Son  exhibited  in  the  flesh  as 


92 


CHRISTMAS. 


the  model  and  centre  of  man's  nature,  even  as  prophecy 
had  declared  in  ancient  days  that  when  He  stooped  to 
mingle  with  creation.  He  should  be  the  beginning  of 
God's  works.  For  we  must  not  fancy  of  Him  as  a  mere 
common  nian,  as  a  single  grain  out  of  the  garner  of 
mortality,  seeing  that  in  Him  not  this  individual  or 
that,  but  manhood  itself  was  taken  into  God.  Thus  as 
He  was  by  right  the  representative  of  Godhead,  and 
shared  in  its  whole  glorious  nature,  as  He  was  the 
brightness  of  His  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image 
of  His  person,  so  did  He  by  choice  become  the  repre- 
sentative of  mankind,  "  for  the  first  man  is  of  the  earth, 
earthy,  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven." 

Now  from  this  brief  statement  it  follows  at  once  why 
Our  Lord's  miracles,  when  in  the  flesh,  were  a  real  ful- 
filment of  that  which  had  been  spoken  in  ancient  days 
concerning  His  nature.  For  their  characteristic  is,  that 
that  in  them  human  sympathy  was  perfectly  divested 
of  human  weakness.  They  show  such  absolute  lord- 
ship over  the  powers  of  nature,  as  might  have  sufficed 
to  empty  the  whole  ocean  of  material  suffering.  He 
who  fed  thousands,  why  could  He  not  banish  all  want  ? 
He  who  healed  men  by  His  thought,  why  could  not  He 
avert  every  sickness  ?  Doubtless  He  would  have  done 
so,  but  that  the  stopping  these  outlets  of  natural  cala- 
mity would  have  only  increased  the  more  intense 
malignity  of  moral  woe.  There  will  be  no  more  pain, 
when  there  is  no  more  sin.  To  natural  sympathy  then. 
Our  Lord  gave  its  proper  weight :  He  could  shed  a  tear 
near  the  grave  of  Bethany,  and  show  pity  at  the  gates 
of  Nain; — these  concessions  He  made  to  the  sinless 
affections  of  our  common  nature  3  but  they  interfered 


CHRISTMAS. 


93 


not  with  those  other  qualities,  which  personal  union 
with  Deity  communicated  to  His  man's  soul.  For 
justice  also  and  holiness  are  attributes  of  God,  to  them 
we  may  adapt  the  words  of  our  greatest  English  writer, 
and  say  that  their  "  seat  is  the  Bosom  of  God,  their 
voice  the  harmony  of  the  world,  that  all  things  in  hea- 
ven and  earth  do  them  homage."  These,  then,  must 
find  their  expression  in  the  acts  of  Him,  who  knew 
what  was  in  man ;  and  what  so  wonderful  as  that  their 
entire  possession  should  have  interfered  not  one  whit 
with  the  perfection  of  sympathy  for  human  sorrows  ? 
How  hard  is  it  for  men  to  attemper  these  conflicting 
principles,  even  in  that  moderate  degTee  in  which  they 
are  present  in  our  hearts?  We  know  that  justice  has 
its  place  on  the  tribunal,  that  it  is  the  reflexion  of  God's 
rule  among  the  children  of  men,  that  its  office  is  to 
deter  from  transgression,  and  its  sanction  the  awful 
reahties  of  our  final  doom.  But  how  difficult  to  divest 
it  of  such  harshness  as  either  does  or  seems  to  militate 
against  our  entire  fellow-feeling  for  mankind."  In  one 
onl}^  bosom  has  it  had  its  perfect  abode,  and  that  the 
only  perfect  pattern  of  all  sympathy  among  men.  In 
Him  alone  the  thronging  offices  of  individual  affection 
interfered  not  with  those  larger  views  of  universal  love, 
of  which  man's  collective  race  was  the  object.  For  as 
man.  He  was  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  the  one  per- 
fect model  of  our  being ;  He  gave  the  full  example  of  a 
life  of  grace,  before  in  death  He  made  satisfaction  for 
His  brethren. 

And  herein  hes  the  wonderful  depth  of  Our  Lord's 
sympathy  for  the  afflictions  of  men.  "  We  have  not 
an  High  Priest,  which  cannot  be  touched  with  a  feehng 


94 


CHRISTMAS. 


of  our  infirmities."  Are  men  in  pain  or  grief,  in  fear  or 
loneliness ;  does  the  thought  of  sin  overpower,  or  the 
dread  of  death  confound  them — here  then  is  one,  who 
to  all  the  attributes  of  a  God,  unites  all  the  compassion 
of  a  brother. 

And  it  is  not  immaterial  to  observe  one  circumstance 
in  Him,  who  is  said  to  have  borne  our  sicknesses.  Yet 
from  what  we  read  in  the  Evangelists,  we  should  con- 
clude that  Our  Lord,  though  He  died  the  death,  yet  did 
not  share  the  sicknesses  of  mankind.  The  reason  is, 
probably,  that  what  He  took  was  our  common  nature? 
with  all  that  belongs  to  the  completeness  of  man's 
being.  Of  this,  death  is  a  general  property,  whereas 
sickness  is  a  peculiar  accident  of  individual  men.  In- 
deed it  follows  commonly,  either  from  some  deficiency 
in  their  original  composition,  or  from  some  irregularity 
in  the  habits  of  their  life,  and  therefore  seems  to  have 
been  inapplicable  to  one  in  whom  humanity  dwelt  in 
its  perfection.  Yet  even  men's  sicknesses  He  might  be 
said  to  bear,  for  in  death  they  are  summed  up ;  the 
great  catastrophe  of  man's  life  contains  all  the  lesser 
forms  which  prognosticate  it ;  or,  at  all  events.  He  felt 
for  men's  sicknesses  as  one  who  by  perfect  sympathy 
was  one  with  themselves.  He  truly  "  bore  our  griefs 
and  carried  our  sorrows." 

Such  signs  have  we  of  that  real  union  between  man 
and  God,  of  which  this  holy  season  reminds  us.  Thus 
did  it  please  the  Father,  that  He  should  do  that  great 
work  on  which  depends  not  only  the  atonement  for 
men's  sins,  but  the  gift  of  holiness.  For  this  it  is  which 
the  sanctification  of  Our  Lord's  human  nature  obtains 


CHRISTMAS. 


95 


for  His  brethren.  "  For  their  sakes,"  He  says,  I 
sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth."  This  it  Avas  Avhich  Our  Lord's 
birth  into  the  world  bestowed  upon  us.  Because 
Adam's  sin  had  lost  the  image  of  God  for  himself  and 
his  children,  Our  Lord  set  it  forth  again  in  the  temple 
of  His  own  humanity,  that  in  Him  there  might  be  a 
true  fountain  of  life  to  the  sons  of  men.  Therefore  it 
is  said  by  St.  Paul  of  all  Christians,  "  ye  have  put  on 
the  new  man  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  Him  that  created  Him."  And  "  as  we  have 
borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear  the 
image  of  the  heavenly." 

This  is  the  great  gift  of  which  Holy  Scripture  is  so 
full ;  which  was  first  bestowed  in  its  completeness  upon 
Him  who  was  the  Son  of  God  by  nature,  that  afterwards 
it  might  in  its  measure  be  partaken  by  us,  who  are  His 
children  only  by  adoption  and  grace.  For  "  as  He  is? 
so  are  we  in  this  world."  On  this  it  is  that  the  whole 
constitution  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  built,  which 
would  have  no  place  in  God's  world  had  not  the  Son  of 
God  taken  manhood  into  personal  union  with  Himself. 
For  there  would  have  been  no  atonement  for  sins  had 
He  not  said,  "sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  wouldst  not, 
but  a  body  hast  Thou  prepared  Me."  And  there  would 
have  been  no  Christian  graces,  had  not  our  nature 
received  "  the  gift  of  God,"  in  one  who  has  perfect 
fellowship  with  His  brethren.  And  there  had  been  no 
Church,  had  He  not  allowed  us  by  real  union  to  be 
members  of  His  Body,  of  His  Flesh,  and  of  His  Bones. 
And  there  would  have  been  no  Sacraments,  had  it  not 


96 


CHRISTMAS. 


pleased  Him  that  our  vile  bodies  should  be  made  clean 
through  His  Body,  and  our  souls  washed  through  His 
most  precious  blood. 

With  reason,  then,  is  the  whole  series  of  the  Church's 
year  built  on  the  memory  of  those  events  on  which 
depends  her  existence.  Most  fitly  is  the  course  of  her 
services  devoted  to  the  setting  forth  of  His  Incarnation 
in  the  flesh.  Thus  do  we  begin  our  year  with  Advent ; 
we  celebrate  at  this  season  the  birth  of  Christ;  we  pass 
on  to  His  circumcision,  when  He  became  obedient  to 
the  law ;  to  Epiphany,  when  He  was  manifest  to  the 
Gentiles.  Then  comes  the  memory  of  His  sufferings 
in  Lent :  on  Good  Friday,  His  death.  Next,  Easter- 
Day,  when  He  rose  again  for  our  justification:  and  the 
season  of  Pentecost,  when,  ascending  up  into  heaven, 
He  gave  us  back  His  own  presence  through  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Such  are  some  of  the  means  by 
which  the  great  mercies  of  Christ  Our  Lord  are  per- 
petually commemorated. 

And  now  let  us  notice,  in  conclusion,  some  of  those 
practical  consequences  which  the  subject  suggests. 

First,  it  sets  forth  what  is  the  peculiar  importance  of 
the  means  of  grace.  On  this  subject  men  are  often 
wanting  in  clear  and  definite  conceptions.  Some  are 
disposed  to  look  on  them  as  a  charm ;  others  perceiving 
them  to  be  applied  through  external  observances,  are 
ready  to  neglect  them  as  trivial  and  insignificant.  Of 
course,  when  looked  at  in  themselves,  they  are  wholly 
worthless.  What  can  be  the  value  of  a  few  words  of 
prayer  from  the  mouth  of  a  weak  and  erring  mortal  ? 
What  table  is  spread  so  cheaply  and  simply  as  the 
Lord's ;  or  how  can  the  natural  element  of  water  wash 


CHRISTMAS. 


97 


away  sin  ?  The  thing  wliich  gives  significance  to  these 
else  idle  forms,  is  the  Incarnation  of  Christ ;  and  they 
are  indeed  worthless,  except  so  far  as  they  minister  to 
union  with  Him.  And  thus  viewed,  there  is  in  them 
a  deep  and  holy  mystery,  such  as  all  the  world's  wealth 
could  not  buy,  nor  its  opposition  destroy.  For  what 
gives  to  these  things  their  value  is,  that  Christ  Our 
Lord,  in  His  own  gracious  Person,  has  re-consecrated 
humanity,  and  that  the  outward  ordinances  of  His 
grace  are  the  means  whereby  He  receives  men  into 
inward  communion. 

"What  is  the  gift  therefore  of  Baptism,  but  that  in  it 
we  are  ingrafted  into  the  new  man ;  and  have  thus  the 
gift  of  a  divine  life,  as  from  the  first  man  we  had  our 
life  wliich  was  natural  ?  But  for  this,  how  could  there 
be  Christian  education?  Is  not  the  education  of  the 
young  built  on  the  principle  of  training  them  to  God's 
service  ?  Yet  are  they  not  heirs  of  a  corrupt  nature  ? 
How  could  we  call  them  then  to  a  better  course,  unless 
we  supposed  them  partakers  of  the  gift  of  grace  ?  What 
reason  have  we  to  suppose  that  such  grace  has  been 
given  except  it  be  in  Baptism  ?  "  Else  were  your  chil- 
dren unclean,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  but  now  are  they  holy." 
"For  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we 
shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."  And  this 
gift  St.  Paul  especially  declares  to  be  bestowed  in  Holy 
Baptism,  "  for  by  one  spirit  are  ye  all  baptized  into  one 
body."  It  is  through  that  hallowed  influence  there- 
fore which  flows  forth  from  His  humanity  upon  all 
His  brethren,  that  this  ordinance  of  the  Gospel  is  so 
blest. 

And  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 


98 


CHRISTMAS. 


It  is  because  "  then  we  dwell  in  Christ  and  Christ  in  us, 
we  are  one  with  Christ  and  Christ  with  us,"  that  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  indeed  an  "  heavenly  feast."  For  in 
it  Our  crucified  Lord  by  heavenly  agency  bestows  upon 
us  Himself ;  "  My  flesh,"  He  says,  "  is  meat  indeed,  and 
My  blood  is  drink  indeed."  Let  Christ's  Incarnation  be 
forgotten,  let  that  crucified  and  now  glorious  body  be 
lost  sight  of,  in  which  He  still  actually  intercedes  for 
us  in  the  Father's  presence,  and  all  these  things,  in- 
stead of  living  channels  of  His  grace,  would  become 
dead  figures.  But  as  the  winter's  day  comes  in  cold 
and  gloomy  till  the  glorious  sun  lights  it  up  with  his 
beams,  so  does  the  warmth  and  life  of  all  outward 
means  depend  on  that  Sun  of  righteousness,  who  at 
this  season  arose  upon  the  earth.  "  The  Word  was  made 
flesh there,  brethren,  is  your  comfort. 

And  this,  too,  is  what  gives  its  true  dignity  to  that 
weak  nature  of  man,  which  He  deigned  to  unite  indis- 
solubly  with  Himself  For  now  God  is  man  and  man 
is  God.  And  the  honours  of  the  first-born  Son  over- 
flow into  all  His  brethren.  On  this  depends  that  care 
for  man's  life  which  is  characteristic  of  Christian  coun- 
tries. For  man  is  God's  image,  which  Christ  Our  Lord 
condescended  to  adopt.  Hence  Christian  charity,  too, 
has  its  root ;  for  we  are  members  one  of  another.  Its 
Christmas  bounty  is  not  merely  dictated  by  the  tale  of 
want ;  but  the  great  event  of  the  time  calls  for  proofs 
of  our  fellow  feeling  with  our  brethren. 

Finally,  I  would  observe  that  in  this  act  of  Our 
Lord's  is  a  warning  what  inward  purity  of  life  may  be 
expected  from  Christians.  Did  He  thus  sanctify  His 
human  Being,  that  it  might  be  the  source  of  sanctifica- 


CHRISTMAS. 


99 


tion  for  all  His  brethren,  and  can  men  live  in  riot  and 
excess,  in  impurity  and  uncleanness  ?  Is  this  what  the 
Holy  Apostles  set  forth  as  the  fitting  consequence  of 
the  Advent  of  Christ  ?  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons 
of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be, 
but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  Do  we  deck 
our  Churches  with  their  Christmas  gifts,  in  His  honour 
who  is  again  made  known  among  us,  and  shall  He  find 
our  hearts  all  unprepared  for  His  coming  ?  Shall  there 
be  envy  among  brethren,  and  hatred  among  neighbours, 
and  all  the  accursed  passions  which  were  the  produce 
of  the  Fall  ?  Nay,  brethren,  let  us  not  thus  make  pre- 
paration for  Christ.  But  let  love  and  peace  be  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  that  blessed  Spirit  of  peace, 
through  whom  Christ  incarnate  vouchsafes  to  visit  us. 
Let  us  gather  in  thought  round  the  cradle  of  Our  Lord 
while  we  now  approach  His  Holy  Table,  and  while  we 
marvel  at  that  fulness  of  grace  which  was  His  natural 
portion,  let  us  pray  that  His  grace  may  now  and  ever- 
more be  made  perfect  in  our  weakness. 


SERMON  IX. 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 


St.  John,  i.  9. 

[Preached  on  Christmas  Day.] 

"  That  was  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 

the  world." 

These  words  of  our  Gospel  might  seem  to  mean — 
that  which  is  perfectly  certain — that  from  God  alone 
comes  all  light  to  all  who  are  born  into  the  world.  Yet 
their  real  signification  reaches  much  further.  They 
mean  that  the  true  lights  by  which  men  are  enlightened, 
was  coming  into  the  world.  "  The  true  light,  which 
lighteth  every  man,  cometh  into  the  world."  So  that 
two  things,  not  one,  are  here  taught  us  about  Christ 
Our  Lord.  Not  only  His  is  nature  declared,  whereby 
before  all  time  He  was  the  fountain  of  light,  but  like- 
wise that  coming  in  the  flesh,  whereby  this  day  is  dis- 
tinguished. For  on  this  day  were  made  known  "  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people,"  when  "  a  light"  was 
set  forth  "  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,"  and  to  be  "  the  glory 
of  Thy  people  Israel." 

Let  us  look  at  the  text,  then,  in  this  view,  as  being 
the  true  declaration  of  Christmas  blessings ;  as  showing 


102  THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 

not  only  what  Christ  was  by  nature,  but  also  what  He 
became  by  grace.  He  loas  the  light  of  man's  being 
by  nature,  because  it  was  no  robbery  in  Him  to  claim 
equality  with  God  :  He  came  into  the  world  when  He 
"  took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made 
in  the  likeness  of  men."  The  text  thus  divides  itself 
naturally  into  two  parts — first.  How  was  Christ  the 
light  of  man's  nature  ?  and  secondly.  How  did  he  come 
into  the  world  ? 

I.  Now  Christ  is  the  light  of  nature  by  virtue  of  His 
Godhead.  It  belongs  to  Godhead  to  be  the  final  source 
of  power,  glory,  and  truth.  When  we  inquire  about 
any  thing  or  any  substance,  our  custom  is  to  ask  what 
is  its  source.  For  there  it  is  commonly  gathered  to- 
gether in  its  strength.  Where  is  it  that  the  waters 
have  their  storehouse  ?  "  God  called  the  dry  land  earth, 
and  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters  called  He 
seas."  From  their  resting-place  in  the  great  deep  are 
waters  sucked  up  into  the  clouds,  or  soak  into  the 
earth.  But  their  storehouse  is  the  sea :  they  slumber 
in  its  unknown  depths  ;  their  mighty  billows  lash  its 
rocky  shores  :  the  sea  is  the  home  of  waters,  their  foun- 
tain and  strength.  And  so  is  it  again  with  the  light 
of  day.  Its  source  is  in  the  sun.  Thence  come  the 
beams  of  light :  when  this  glorious  orb  climbs  up  the 
heaven,  we  have  clear  day.  Whatever  enlightens  us, 
reminds  us  of  its  presence  ;  and  the  aim  of  every  earthly 
light  is  to  be  a  mimic  sun.  For  to  this  our  thoughts 
still  return,  as  being  the  natural  lord  of  day.  Now 
what  the  sun  is  to  the  light,  and  ocean  to  the  waters, 
their  source,  fountain,  storehouse,  home — the  same  do 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 


103 


grace,  truth,  and  wisdom,  find  in  God.  For  "  the  Word 
of  God  Most  High  is  the  fountain  of  wisdom."  "  She 
is  the  breath  of  the  power  of  God." 

From  this  only  source  has  the  inner  nature  its  illu- 
mination. Whatever  knowledge  or  purity  is  found  in 
the  w^orld  we  must  trace  back  to  Him.  "  We  may 
gpeak  much,"  says  the  writer  of  Ecclesiasticus,  "  and 
yet  come  short ;  wherefore  in  sum  He  is  all !"  For  how 
did  man  get  reason,  save  because  God  gave  it?  Now 
He  who  gave,  must  Himself  possess  it.  He  w^ho  gives 
it  out  to  the  children  of  men,  must  have  it  in  store  in 
His  own  Being.  The  fountain  will  be  discovered  by 
observing  from  what  quarter  flow  the  streams.  And 
so  says  Holy  Scripture :  "  In  Him  was  life,  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men."  This  is  what  the  Psalmist's 
thoughts  turned  on  :  "  With  Thee  is  the  fountain  of 
life,  and  in  Thy  light  shall  we  feee  light."  God,  says 
Jeremiah,  is  "  the  fountain  of  living  waters."  And  all 
this,  therefore,  is  true  of  Christ,  because  He  is  by  nature 
God.  He  is  God  from  God,  Light  from  light.  Very 
God  from  very  God.  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Him- 
self, so  Christ,  according  to  His  Godhead,  is  the  natural 
source  of  light  and  knowledge. 

When  we  read  that  God  hath  given  to  the  Son  to 
have  life  in  Himself,  this  refers  especially  to  Christ 
according  to  His  man's  nature.  Look  at  Him  as  God, 
and  He  stands  in  no  need  of  receiving  that  as  a  gift, 
which  belonged  to  Him  by  nature.  For  Christ  is  by 
nature  God  the  Son.  A  son,  by  the  order  of  nature,  is 
like  his  father.  If  the  father  be  a  man,  it  is  nothing 
unusual,  but  the  order  of  nature,  for  the  son  to  be  a 
man  likewise.    So  it  is  here,  as  the  Father  is  God,  so 


104 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 


is  the  Son.  And  therefore  do  those  things  which  be- 
long to  Godhead  belong  to  Him.  He  Himself  renews 
the  nature  of  the  beings  which  He  has  created.  As  the 
Word  of  God  was  peculiarly  engaged  in  the  work  of 
man's  creation,  so  from  Him  comes  that  divine  power 
and  grace,  whereby  men  are  re-created  to  holiness. 

II.  But  this  leads  on  to  the  second  part  of  the  text : 
how  this  true  light  came  into  the  world.  The  Light 
is  God  the  Word  :  Very  God  of  very  God  :  one  with 
the  Father  :  partaking  with  the  Father  of  that  glory 
which  belonged  to  them  before  all  worlds :  but  how  did 
this  light  come  into  the  world  ?  In  one  sense  it  had 
never  left  the  world :  for  such  a  thing  as  conscience 
there  had  always  been,  and  conscience  is  God  the  Word 
speaking  to  our  hearts.  Therefore  is  it  said  by  St. 
John  that  the  life  is  the  light  of  men.  How  then  could 
it  come  into  the  world  ?  It  came  into  the  world  by 
taking  its  place  among  the  world's  inhabitants :  this 
ancient  and  original  light  clothed  itself  in  a  fleshly 
covering,  and  was  a  man  among  mortals.  "  He  did 
show  Himself  upon  earth,  and  conversed  with  men." 
This  was  the  manner  in  which  the  light  came  into  the 
world. 

This  is  the  great  miracle  which  to-day  reveals.  "  He 
was  in  the  world"  before,  "  and  the  world  was  made  by 
Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him  not."  And  yet  in  His 
former  dwelling  among  men,  "  He  left  not  Himself  alto- 
gether without  witness."  He  spoke  before  in  conscience 
or  by  reason ;  thus  was  He  God  the  Enlightener.  But 
now  was  He  undertaking  a  new  office.  He  came  in  that 
fleshly  nature  into  which  He  had  infused  the  glory  of 
God,  that  so  He  might  communicate  it  to  His  brethren. 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE.  105 

What  can  be  so  great  a  mystery  as  this  ?  We  think 
much  and  justly  of  Our  Lord's  death  for  sinners.  We 
remember  how  He  shed  His  precious  blood  upon  the 
Cross  for  our  salvation.  We  read  of  those  long  agonies 
which  He  under^vent  for  us  in  the  Garden,  when  He 
bore  the  burthen  of  a  guilty  world.  But  all  these  won- 
ders depend  on  the  truth  of  His  nature.  If  He  had 
not  been  a  man,  how  could  He  have  appeared  for  His 
fellows  ?  To  take  our  nature,  to  be  one  of  us,  to  have 
a  common  interest  -with  men — this  lay  at  the  root  of 
all  He  did  for  them.  He  took  that  flesh  and  blood 
which  you  and  I  have  inherited  from  Adam  our  fore- 
father ;  He  took  such  a  soul  as  He  has  given  to  us.  He 
sanctified  what  thus  He  put  on ;  and  by  this  means  He 
made  it  the  beginning  of  purity  and  life  to  all  other 
men.  There  was  light  before  the  sun  was  made.  Light 
had  its  dwelling,  we  know  not  how,  in  God's  heaven ; 
it  floated  about  as  pleased  Him,  in  the  boundless  sea  of 
His  unsearchable  dominion ;  but  so  soon  as  the  sun  was 
made,  it  was  gathered  into  this  glorious  orb,  that  thence 
it  might  issue  forth  to  enlighten  mankind.  Still  does 
the  sun  go  forth  as  a  bridegroom  from  his  chamber. 

Now,  as  light  has  its  dwelling  in  the  sun,  so  is  the 
man's  nature,  which  was  taken  by  Christ,  the  seat  of 
all  grace  and  holiness.  He  bade  them  dwell  there,  that 
thence  they  might  issue  forth  into  all  those  who  are 
united  to  Him.  And  this  was  that  coming  of  light  into 
the  world,  of  which  the  text  informs  us.  It  took  place 
when  grace  and  holiness  came  down  from  their  native 
seat  in  the  bosom  of  God,  and  took  up  their  dwelling 
in  a  son  of  Adam.  Was  not  this  a  real  coming  into 
the  world.  Before,  these  things  had  belonged  to  the  hea- 

8 


106 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 


venly  state;  they  belonged  now  to  the  earthly.  Before, 
the  very  angels  had  not  possessed  them  in  perfection ; 
and  now  they  were  possessed  perfectly  by  a  man.  And 
tliis  man  was  the  Man  Christ  Jesus.  This  man  was 
born  to-day.  Well,  then,  may  we  keep  Christmas-tide 
with  reverent  worship,  and  affectionate  interest,  and 
joyful  love,  and  humble  thankfulness.  For  our  glorious 
brother  is  born.  Our  common  nature  is  exalted.  Our 
being  is  made  higher  than  the  angels.  God  is  become 
man,  and  man  God. 

Brethren,  I  fear  there  are  those  who  either  keep  not 
at  all  this  holy  feast,  or  keep  it  but  as  a  day  of  vulgar 
mirth,  and  ungodly  idleness.  Oh,  how  little  do  such 
men  understand  the  real  happiness  of  their  nature ! 
How  little  do  they  see  what  it  is  which  separates  them 
from  the  beasts  !  What  a  fearful  abuse  of  that  nature, 
which  has  been  made  higher  than  the  angels !  What 
a  wide  gap  is  there  in  man's  being  1  It  reaches  up  to 
the  very  throne  of  God — this  is  its  highest  step.  It 
reaches  down  to  the  very  pit  of  hell — this  is  its  lowest 
degradation.  The  Head  and  new  Father  of  our  race — 
He  who  was  born  this  day — in  Him  is  it  exalted — those 
who  live  in  sin  and  lust,  and  so  do  Satan's  work,  that 
they  may  share  Satan's  portion — in  them  is  it  degraded. 
Which  family  will  you  join  ?  Will  you  take  service 
with  Him  who  was  born  to-day  ?  Will  you  have  a 
Christian  name,  a  Christian  life,  a  Christian  end  ?  I 
hope  you  will.  I  entreat  you  to  do  so.  Oh,  it  is  easy 
to  say  this.  Natural  feeling  compels  it.  But  He  who 
was  born  into  the  world  to-day,  that  He  might  give 
Himself  a  sacrifice  for  His  brethren,  did  much  more 
than  say  this.    See,  He  sanctified  His  man's  nature, 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  J^-ATURE. 


107 


that  it  miglit  be  the  seed  of  grace  to  all  other  of  Adam's 
children.  He  brought  doAvn  into  it  the  holiness  of  God- 
head, that  His  purified  body  might  sanctify  ours  wliich 
is  impure. 

And  this  is  what  He  offers  to  all  devout  and  penitent 
worshippers  in  His  Holy  Sacraments.    Some  men  think 
little  of  these  holy  ordinances,  and  why?    Because  they 
do  not  perceive  the  full  amount  of  that  gift,  which  was 
bestowed  upon  man  s  nature  by  the  birth  of  Christ.  If 
they  knew  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  is  who  feeds 
them  with  His  flesh  and  blood  in  the  Holy  Communion, 
they  would  ask  of  Him,  and  He  would  give  them  that 
holier  and  purer  nature,  which  dwelt  in  Himself  To 
understand  and  believe  what  was  done  to-day,  is  to  see 
why  such  signal  blessings  are  to  be  found  at  the  Lord's 
table.    For  what  happens  there,  is  that  through  out- 
ward elements  of  bread  and  wine,  that  hallowed  nature, 
which  Christ  made  pure  and  perfect,  is  given  for  the 
spiritual  renewal  of  the  sons  of  men.    Do  you  see,  then 
the  greatness  of  this  gift  ?    Do  you  see  how  man's  being 
was  altered  ?    Do  you  see  that  by  the  birth  of  to-day 
there  was  a  regeneration  of  man's  nature  ?    And  can 
you  think  little  of  those  means,  whereby  this  gift  may 
spread  into  yourselves,  and  fill  you  with  all  those  bless- 
ings, which  Christ  has  bestowed  upon  your  common 
nature  ?    For  Christ  was  born  into  the  world  to-day. 
But  He  is  born  in  each  man  by  sanctification  and  grace. 
"  My  little  children,"  writes  St.  Paul  to  the  Galatians, 
"of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again,  until  Christ  le 
formed  in  you." 

And  how  is  Christ  formed  in  you?  You  cannot 
make  Him  for  yourselves  ?    He  is  no  image  made  by 


108 


THE  EXALTATION  OF  NATURE. 


hands,  or  thought,  or  feeUng.  He  comes  to  you  from 
without,  through  the  ordinances  of  His  grace,  in  His 
Holy  Sacraments.  Thus  do  you  spiritually  receive 
your  Maker.  Every  earnest  and  repentant  spirit,  which 
opens  the  ready  door  of  faith,  shall  surely  receive  this 
heavenly  visitant.  Come,  then,  I  beseech  you,  and  let 
this  be  indeed  a  Christmas  day  to  every  one  of  you. 
Let  Christ,  who  was  born  into  manhood  to-day,  be  bom 
anew  m  each  one  of  your  hearts.  Keceive  Him  who 
gave  Himself  once  in  the  virgin's  womb,  that  He  might 
give  Himself  perpetually  on  the  altar.  Draw  near  in 
faith,  and  lift  up  your  hearts  with  your  hands  unto 
God  in  the  heavens. 


SERMOX  X. 


LENT. 


Daniel  x.  2,  3. 

III  those  days  1  Dan  iel  was  mourning  three  full  weeks.  I  ate  no 
pleasant  bread,  neither  came  flesh  nor  wine  in  my  mouth  .  .  .  till 
three  whole  weeks  were  fulfilled.^\ 

Thus  does  the  Prophet  describe  a  season ,  m  which 
God  was  pleased  to  visit  him  by  His  especial  power. 

From  the  first  day  that  thou  didst  set  thine  heart  to 
understand,  and  to  chasten  thyself  before  thy  God,"  the 
angel  told  him,  "  thy  words  were  heard,  and  I  am  come 
for  thy  words."  It  was  not  without  result,  therefore, 
that  he  cut  off  an  interval  of  time  from  the  distractions 
of  ordinary  life.  A  lesson  this,  the  more  instructive, 
because  Daniel  was  a  layman,  and  busied  in  w^orldly 
cares. 

In  this  bustling  age,  men  are  apt  to  find  excuses  for 
declining  the  force  of  Scriptural  warnings.  If  David 
"  fasted  and  lay  in  sackcloth,"  it  w^as  in  the  freedom  of 
barbarous  times.  If  St.  Paul  was  "  in  fastings  often," 
he  was  an  Apostle,  who  needed  to  keep  no  terms  with 
the  world,  because  he  had  devoted  himself  to  a  mission- 
ary hfe.    If  Cornelius  was  accepted,  when  he  had 


110 


LENT. 


prayed  with  fasting  to  the  ninth  hour,  he  was  a  hea- 
then. If  Our  Lord  hungered  in  the  wilderness,  He  was 
more  than  man.  But  what  shall  be  said  of  Daniel,  the 
inhabitant  of  a  court,  the  descendant  of  kings,  on  whom 
lay  the  affairs  of  the  province  of  Babylon,  when  we  find 
him  devoting  weeks  to  self-denial,  prayer,  and  inter- 
course with  God  ?  This  was  no  Jewish  form  :  it  was 
not  superseded  therefore  by  the  purer  worship  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  It  shows  in  what  manner  holy  men 
have  found  it  expedient  to  break  in  upon  that  concupis- 
cence of  the  flesh,  which  needs  at  times  to  be  unusually 
checked,  that  so  the  spiritual  nature  may  assert  usual 
supremacy.  Thus  may  we  retire  for  a  season  with 
Christ  into  the  mountain,  that  we  may  return  to  mix 
better  in  the  intercourse  of  men. 

The  practice  is  sanctioned  by  St.  Paul,  1  Cor.  vii.  5,  a 
jDassage  on  which  Bishop  Taylor  grounds  this  observa- 
tion [Soly  Lwing  and  Dying,  p.  12)  :  "  Let  him  that  is 
most  busied  set  apart  some  solemn  time  every  year,  in 
which,  quitting  all  worldly  business,  he  may  attend 
w^holly  to  fasting  and  prayer,  and  the  dressing  of  his 
soul  by  confessions,  meditations,  and  attendance  upon 
God :  that  he  may  make  up  his  accounts,  renew  his 
vows,  make  amends  for  his  carelessness,  and  retire  back 
again,  from  w^hence  levity,  and  the  vanities  of  the 
world,  or  the  opportunity  of  temptations,  or  the  distrac- 
tion of  secular  affairs  have  carried  him." 

Now  two  dangers,  though  not  its  necessary  result, 
seem  not  unlikely  to  arise  from  such  a  practice.  The 
one,  that  there  seems  too  much  of  human  choice  in  men's 
selecting  such  seasons  of  voluntary  self-restraint.  The 
other,  that  such  especial  consecration  of  ourselves  to 


LENT. 


Ill 


religious  duties  may  lead  to  formality,  or  to  spiritual 
pride.  These  evils  do  not  spring  necessarily  from  this 
practice,  more  than  from  any  other  use  of  the  means  of 
grace,  but  Satan  might  build  such  temptations  upon 
them.  No  doubt  it  was  to  obviate  this  that  our  Church 
has  in  her  wisdom  enjoined  the  use  of  the  present  sea- 
son, and  based  it  moreover  on  the  more  especial  imita- 
tion of  the  example  of  Christ.  In  this  manner  the 
temptation  to  pride  is  obviated,  for  none  can  be  puffed 
up  at  rendering  obedience  to  a  common  precept :  and 
the  sacred  pattern  which  she  sets  before  us  is  fitted  to 
absorb  any  lower  thoughts,  by  which  men  might  other 
wise  be  molested. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  tliis  season  of  Lent,  to  which 
all  Church-people  are  enjoined  in  one  way  or  another  to 
pay  attention  ;  to  which  many  already  pay  regard ;  and 
which  I  am  persuaded  will  be  still  more  heeded,  in  pro- 
portion as  men  feel  more  deeply  the  evangelic  doctrines 
of  the  need  of  repentance,  grace,  and  union  with  Christ 
Our  Lord.  For  although  it  be  true  that  the  clergy  are 
bound  by  a  solemn  additional  vow  to  render  obedience 
to  the  Church's  laws,  so  that  carelessness  in  them  would 
be  more  heinous  guilt,  yet  the  general  promises  of  Bap- 
tism plainly  require  of  men  such  Christian  improvement 
of  the  means  of  grace,  as  opportunity  offers.  The  prac- 
tical question  then  is,  what  use  we  can  each  make  of 
this  period  of  Lent ;  how  can  we  extract  from  it  those 
benefits,  for  which  Daniel  was  glad  to  sacrifice  the  com- 
forts of  his  ordinary  life  ? 

First,  then,  it  is  the  Church's  time  of  revival.  If 
duly  used,  there  is  none,  in  which  we  might  hope  to 


112 


LENT. 


see  a  larger  harvest  of  immortal  souls.  Is  not  the 
world  in  common  too  strong  for  us  ?  Do  not  we  find 
its  allurements  too  enticing  to  be  resisted  ?  Is  it  not  in 
vain  often  that  Christ's  ministers  raise  their  warning 
voice,  and  tell  men  of  the  fleeting  nature  of  all  transi- 
tory joys  ?  Of  what  signal  benefit  then  might  it  be,  if 
men  were  accustomed  for  this  season,  at  all  events,  to 
hold  themselves  dispensed  from  the  ordinary  calls  of 
pleasure,  and  to  open  their  hearts  to  the  impression  and 
prospect  of  things  divine. 

In  truth,  it  is  probably  because  they  will  not  use  such 
salutary  intervals,  that  God's  Providence  often  deals  with 
men  by  His  afflictive  dispensations.  Many  a  man,  who 
will  not  give  his  ordinary  employments  this  interrup- 
tion, is  mercifully  interrupted  by  that  chastening  hand 
which  would  save  him  from  utter  perdition.  "  If  we 
would  judge  ourselves  we  should  not  be  judged."  How 
many  fits  of  sickness  have  been  sent  in  mercy  on  those, 
whose  hours  of  health  they  would  never  give  to  God. 
The  enforced  meditations  of  the  sleepless  night  and 
painful  day  have  been  God's  merciful  provision  for 
securing  those  occasions  of  thought,  which  men's  care- 
lessness would  not  render.  How  many  bereavements 
have  been  designed  to  disgust  men  with  those  worldly 
comforts,  which,  in  scenes  of  cheerfulness,  they  would 
never  sacrifice.  The  bereaved  parent,  the  widowed 
partner,  are  thus  taught  how  insipid  are  earthly  joys. 
Happy  if  then  thus  they  learn  to  hold  intercourse  with 
Christ  their  Saviour,  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  prayer,  to 
take  delight  in  sharing  His  portion — if  they  truly  wean 
themselves  from  the  transitory  objects,  from  which 


LENT. 


113 


God's  chastening  hand  was  designed  to  recall  then^. 
For  "when  we  are  judged  we  are  chastened  of  the  Lord, 
that  we  should  not  be  condemned  with  the  world." 

Now  it  is  that  such  heavy  and  afflicting  remedies  may 
not  be  needed,  that  we  call  men  to  turn  betimes  to  the 
service  of  God.  "  Judge  therefore  yourselves,  brethren, 
that  ye  be  not  judged  of  the  Lord."  What  is  there  in 
truth  so  appalling  to  any  believing  mind,  as  the  unin- 
terrupted prosperity  of  a  careless  sinner  ?  He  has  no 
checks,  because  God  allows  him  to  nourish  his  heart 
against  the  day  of  slaughter.  What  hope  is  there  then 
for  his  escape  ?  Unless  some  fearful  visitation  calls  him 
to  repentance,  unless  he  is  made  a  monument  of  the 
present  judgments  of  the  Almighty,  there  must  await 
him  the  more  awful  vengeance  of  eternal  fire.  He  dies 
decently,  it  may  be,  and  is  buried.  He  has  himself  no 
particular  alarm,  neither  is  anything  permitted  to 
awaken  his  dormant  conscience.  His  body  sleeps  in 
honour,  perhaps,  with  his  brethren.  But  where  is  the 
man  himself — the  immortal,  unalterable  spirit?  In 
hell  hehfts  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment.  If  there  be 
any  hope  of  arousing  men  from  so  dangerous  a  state,  it 
must  be  by  the  return  of  seasons,  when  the  Church 
takes  account,  as  it  were,  of  her  careless  children,  and 
calls  them  by  her  warning  voice  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come. 

And  this  is  the  more  needed,  because  the  early  admis- 
sion of  men  by  Baptism  to  the  privileges  of  the  Church, 
leaves  many  unvisited  by  any  especial  call  to  repent- 
ance. Having  been  partakers  of  that  regenerating 
gift  on  which  all  obedience  must  of  course  be  founded, 
they  suppose  that  all  is  done.    They  have  grown  up 


114 


LENT. 


careless  and  worldly.  Yet  there  comes  no  further  call 
to  them.  There  is  no  peculiar  attempt  for  their  conver- 
sion and  recovery.  They  have  wandered  from  the  fold  : 
but  none  is  in  condition  or  has  opportunity  to  urge  their 
return.  If  they  were  Heathen  we  should  send  mis- 
sionaries to  convert  them :  if  they  were  children  we 
should  send  ministers  to  baptize  them ;  but  Christians 
as  they  are,  what  means  is  there  to  employ,  though 
they  are  in  truth  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  bond  of 
iniquity.  Now  Lent,  duly  used,  might  be  of  signal 
benefit  to  such  persons :  a  missionary  season  within  the 
Church,  when  her  earnest  sons  deplored  their  own  sins, 
and  peculiar  efforts  were  employed  for  the  conversion 
of  her  wanderers. 

Looking  at  the  season  of  Lent  in  this  light,  how 
valuable  is  its  peculiar  connexion  with  the  sufferings 
of  Christ.  First  we  have  this  season  of  forty  days, 
during  which  we  recall  His  fasting  in  the  desert :  and 
then  come  the  memorable  incidents  of  His  stupendous 
passion.  How  deeply  might  the  Holy  Week,  which 
ends  this  season,  impress  on  us  the  truths  which  His 
death  recalls.  His  entrance  into  Jerusalem  on  Palm 
Sunday :  His  two  successive  visits  to  it  on  the  following 
days  :  on  Wednesday  His  betrayal :  His  agony  and  the 
Institution  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  on  Thursday :  His 
death  on  Friday  :  on  Saturday  His  resting  in  the  grave : 
then  His  triumph  over  death,  ere  he  led  captivity  cap- 
tive, and  gave  gifts  to  men.  Surely  it  is  not  in  vain 
that  this  especial  season  is  set  forth  for  reviving  the 
Church's  love,  and  gathering  new  sons  into  her  ancient 
bosom,  when  it  thus  brings  before  us  in  such  lively 
colours  the  earthly  career  of  her  great  Leader.  When 


LENT. 


115 


can  the  evil  of  sin  be  so  deeplj^  felt  as  in  the  contem- 
plation of  Christ's  sacrifice  ?  When  can  the  fearful  end 
of  the  sinner  be  so  fully  anticipated,  as  when  we  gaze 
upon  the  price  of  his  release  ?  What  so  likely  to  affect 
men's  minds,  as  to  exhibit  these  truths  as  things  acted 
before  their  eyes,  and  whereby  their  own  hearts  should 
be  riven? 

But  besides  the  effect  of  such  seasons  in  gathering 
new  members  into  the  number  of  Christ's  earnest  people, 
their  effect  would  be  great  in  increasing  the  devotion  of 
those  who  already  serve  God.  And  this  we  all  want. 
We  must  all  feel  the  force  of  temptation.  Those  who 
least  dread,  have  most  reason  to  fear  it.  How  salutary 
is  it  therefore  to  be  yearly  called  to  examine  our  state, 
and  by  fresh  penitence  and  prayer  to  draw  near  to  God. 
The  importance  of  such  a  practice  can  hardly  he  over- 
rated. But  in  what  especial  acts  shall  it  be  embodied  ? 
"  Thy  people  turn  to  Thee,"  says  our  Church  at  the 
commencement  of  Lent,  "  in  weeping,  fasting,  and 
praying."  Especial  repentance,  additional  prayers, 
fasting — these  are  the  three  acts  which  she  enjoins, 
whereby  we  may  answer  on  our  part  to  that  quickening 
grace  which  is  to  revive  and  renew  us. 

Actual  fasting  is  a  means  of  deadness  to  the  world 
and  of  preparation  for  prayer,  the  effect  whereof  none 
can  estimate  but  those  who  try  it,  but  which  the  ex- 
ample of  all  holy  men  recorded  in  Scripture  is  surely 
sufficient  to  recommend.  But  because  want  of  usage 
makes  it  strange  to  most  persons  in  this  day,  and  to 
many  want  of  strength  may  render  it  impossible,  there- 
fore we  have  in  the  text  a  kind  of  fasting  which  all 
might  imitate.    Those  who  cannot  renounce  the  neces- 


116 


LENT. 


saries,  might  renounce  the  delicacies  of  life.  "In  those 
days,"  says  Daniel,  "  I  ate  no  pleasant  meat."  But  to 
most  persons,  some  actual  diminution  in  the  quantity  of 
food,  or  some  change  in  the  kind  of  it,  would  probably 
be  found  the  best  preparation  for  a  season  of  meditation 
and  of  prayer.  To  this  the  Apostle  refers,  when  he 
speaks  approvingly  to  the  Corinthians  of  men's  giving 
themselves  for  a  time  to  prayer  and  fasting. 

But  such  self-denial  should  be  attended  by  peculiar 
acts  of  devotion.  Men  should  set  apart  some  few 
minutes  from  the  bustle  and  heat  of  every  day,  above 
that  which  they  usually  give  to  prayer,  when  with  in- 
creased zeal  they  should  seek  God's  mercy  for  them- 
selves and  their  brethren.  Why  should  not  men  retire 
at  mid-day,  or  before  their  daily  meal,  and  give  some 
quater  of  an  hour  to  solitary  meditation  on  Christ's 
sufferings,  on  the  evil  of  sin,  on  death  and  judgment  ? 
For  want  of  teaching,  many  know  neither  the  nature 
nor  importance  of  meditation.  Their  subject  should  be 
fixed  beforehand.  The  general  tenor  of  their  thoughts 
should  be  arranged.  They  should  allot  some  specified 
time  to  it.  Suppose  their  subject  to  be  the  remembrance 
of  their  own  death.  Let  them  consider  how  certain  it 
is — how  soon  and  sudden  it  may  be — then  let  them 
realize  its  consequences,  and  see  whether  they  are  pre- 
pared for  its  approach.  Such  a  subject  daily  proposed 
to  the  mind  could  hardly  fail,  by  God's  blessing,  to 
make  it  serious. 

And  further,  to  pass  to  the  importance  of  prayer.  In 
it  we  have  the  soul's  utterance  of  its  wants  to  God. 
And  especially  should  we  value,  at  this  season,  all  those 
occasions  for  public  prayer  when  Christ  our  Lord  meets 


LENT, 


117 


us  more  iminediately  in  His  Sanctuary.  How  precious 
to  the  humbled  spirit,  when  self-denial  and  meditation 
have  done  their  work,  to  enter  into  God's  courts  and 
find  there  the  reality  of  Our  Lord's  promise,  that  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  My  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst.  How  soothing  at  such  a  time  to  be 
assured  of  that  real  presence  of  Christ  Our  Saviour, 
which  He  bestows  in  that  life-giving  ordinance  of  the 
'Holy  Eucharist,  wherein  He  communicates  Himself. 
Yea,  Lord,  though  the  world  despise,  and  the  unbeliev- 
ing neglect  Thee,  yet  be  Thy  promise  fulfilled  to  the 
little  flock  of  Thy  faithful  worshippers. 

And  now,  if  it  seem  to  some  that  our  circumstances 
scarce  need  that  humiliation  and  sorrow  of  heart  which 
was  not  unnatural  in  the  exile  of  Babylon,  I  would  say, 
in  fine,  that  never  surely  was  the  Church  more  fitly 
called  to  similar  complaint.  Each  year,  indeed,  we 
hear  the  words,  Let  the  bridegroom  go  forth  out  of  his 
chamber,  and  the  bride  out  of  her  closet ;  let  the  Priests, 
the  ministers  of  the  Lord,  weep  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar."  And  is  there  not  a  cause  ?  Is  it  nothing 
that  in  our  very  land  should  grow  up  thousands  who 
neither  fear  God  nor  regard  men?  That  open  sins 
should  be  so  prevalent  in  a  Christian  land ;  that  ignor- 
ance should  be  so  rife;  crime  so  increasing?  Is  it 
nothing  that  the  wealth  and  numbers  of  our  great  towns 
should  increase  so  much  more  rapidly  than  the  means 
of  grace  and  the  opportunities  of  worship  ?  Is  not 
the  chasm  increasing  between  the  different  ranks  of 
society,  which  may  soon  swallow  up  all  our  blessings  ? 
Are  there  not  many  by  whom  God  is  habituallj^ 
neglected — are  there  not  numbers  among  us  for  whom 


118 


LENT. 


Christ  has  died  in  vain  ?  Can  we  hear  this  without 
grief ;  can  we  speak  of  it  without  tears  ?  Is  mirth  and 
joy  a  fitting  feeUng,  while  God  is  dishonoured,  and  man 
lost  ?  Look  at  every  great  city,  and  how  many  will 
you  find  who  enters  God's  House — who  seem  to  be  as 
wanting  in  the  thought  of  God  as  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
Look  at  those  who  cultivate  your  fields :  are  they  not 
immortal  beings  ?  Is  not  each  one  of  them  made  for 
heaven  or  hell  ?  Must  he  not  answer  for  himself  before 
Almighty  God  as  much  as  if  he  were  a  prince  or  an 
emperor?  How  many  of  them  are  there  of  whom 
Christ's  ministers  know  nothing ;  what  habits  of  prayer 
do  they  possess ;  what  hope  have  they  of  reward ;  what 
fear  of  punishment  ?  Even  on  God's  day  of  rest,  they 
have  no  heart  to  serve  God,  no  remembrance  of  His 
laws.  Surely,  surely,  it  is  enough  to  make  a  wise  man 
weep,  to  see  them  thus  "  go  down  like  a  beast  to  the 
slaughter,  or  like  a  fool  to  the  correction  of  the  stocks." 

Again — a  not  less  afflicting  thought — is  not  the 
Church,  the  very  Bride  of  Christ,  rent  by  division  and 
disputes  ?  Are  not  the  minds  even  of  good  men  full  of 
suspicion,  unkindness,  and  jealousy?  Is  there  not  bit- 
terness even  among  brethren  ?  "  It  was  not  an  open 
enemy  that  did  me  this  dishonour,  neither  was  it  mine 
adversary  that  did  magnify  himself  against  me."  "  We 
took  sweet  counsel  together,  and  walked  in  the  House 
of  God  as  friends."  Surely  it  is  thus  that  we  should 
look  at  all  those  divisions,  by  which  the  inward  peace 
of  Christ's  Church  is  torn  and  wounded.  Such  evils 
can  only  be  remedied  by  humility,  meekness,  forbear- 
ance and  prayer.  And  those  may  best  hope  to  heal 
them,  who  have  thrice  a  week  opportunity  of  suppli- 


LENT. 


119 


eating  in  the  Church's  words,  that  if  so  be  they  have 
^•enemies  and  slanderers,"  God  may  "forgive  and  turn 
their  hearts."  Surely  there  is  true  might  in  a  devout 
man's  prayers.  For  Christ  Our  Lord  hears  them ;  and 
in  His  hand  are  all  hearts :  He  can  bend  our  brother's 
will,  He  can  purify  our  own  hearts.  Even  at  the  be- 
ginning of  our  supplication  He  will  come  forth  to 
help  us. 


SEEMOX  XI. 


EELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


Revelations  ii.  4. 

[Preached  in  Lent.] 

Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat  against  thee,  because  thou  has  left  thy 
first  love.'' 

Whether  this  part  of  the  Book  of  Revelations  has  a 
deep  and  prophetic  meaning,  need  not  now  be  consi- 
dered. It  would  certainly  not  be  unnatural  to  attach 
to  it  some  further  signification  than  meets  the  incurious 
ear.  But  its  plain,  immediate,  personal  lesson,  is  ap- 
plicable to  the  present  time,  and  sufficient  for  the  ]3re- 
sent  occasion.  That  lesson  is  the  danger  of  religious 
declension.  Let  us  first  consider  the  nature  of  this  evil 
and  the  risk  of  it ;  and  we  may  then  see  readily  enough 
how  displeasing  it  must  be  to  God,  and  how  dangerous 
to  the  souls  of  men.  Finally,  it  may  be  observed  that 
the  present  season  is  designed  as  an  especial  guard 
against  it. 

The  t€xt,  then,  sets  forth  the  danger  of  falling  away 
from  Grace.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  to  addict  our- 
selves to  God's  service,  and  yet  afterwards  to  fall  back 
from  Him.    "  These  things  saith  He  that  holdeth  the 

seven  stars  in  his  right  hand,  who  walketh  in  the  midst 

9 


122 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION". 


of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks :  I  know  thy  works, 
and  thj  labour,  and  thy  patience,  and  how  thou  canst 
not  bear  them  which  are  evil ;  and  thou  hast  tried 
them  which  say  they  are  Apostles,  and  are  not,  and 
hast  found  them  liars.  Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat 
against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love."  The 
state  complained  of  is  not  total  alienation  from  God,  a 
life  of  open  sin,  avowed  worldly-mindedness — but  the 
abandonment  of  that  love  of  God  by  which  the  soul 
was  once  possessed,  and  which  formerly  bound  it  to  its 
Saviour. 

But  we  must  not  suppose,  that  an  alteration  of 
feelings  is  all  which  is  intended.  Love  is  strong  as 
death :  feelings  are  uncertain  and  precarious  as  the 
dreams  of  infancy.  Love  strengthens  by  exercise  :  feel- 
ings are  deadened  by  familiarity  with  that  which  ex- 
cites them.  Love  directs  the  actings  of  the  whole  man : 
but  men  often  entertain  feelings  which  are  contradicted 
by  their  conduct.  Good  feelings,  therefore,  are  a  de- 
sirable thing,  and  assist  in  many  ways  our  religious 
course,  but  neither  does  their  excitement  show  us  to  be 
good,  nor  their  lack  of  excitement  show  us  to  be  evil. 
No  man  is  good  save  by  being  one  with  Christ,  and 
when  the  love  of  Christ  rules  within  him.  And  the 
love  of  Christ  is  such  a  permanent,  abiding  principle  of 
affection  and  affiance  in  His  holy  will,  as  shall  lead  us 
to  make  it  the  perpetual  rule  of  our  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions.  It  must  regulate  not  only  the  external 
actions  of  our  lives,  but  the  inward  actions  of  our  hearts. 
It  is  a  hidden  rule,  which  none  but  ourselves  and  God's 
Spirit  are  privy  too;  nay,  we  ourselves  may  mistake 
ourselves,  and  God's  Spirit  only  cannot  be  deceived. 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


123 


For  He  is  "  greater  than  our  hearts,  and  knoweth  all 
things."  Such  is  that  love  of  Christ  which  men  may 
have,  and  then  leave,  and  which  gives  occasion,  there- 
fore, to  Our  Lord's  warning,  "  remember  from  whence 
thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works." 

Let  us  dwell  shortly  on  the  nature  of  this  decline 
and  the  causes  of  it.  The  words  of  the  text  refer  to 
those  who  are  not  openly  ungodly  men.  The  caution 
is  to  such  as  by  habit  and  profession,  and  general  de- 
sire, and  popular  thought,  are  servants  of  God.  And 
if  there  be  one  such  person  who  thinks  that  to  himself 
such  a  warning  is  needless,  to  him  we  say  plainh^, 
"  thou  art  the  man."  Thou  art  he,  to  whom  this  cau- 
tion is  signally  applicable.  For  "  he  that  trust eth  in 
his  own  heart  is  a  fool."  But  probably  no  one  doubts 
that  the  warning  is  of  importance  for  all  of  us.  The 
only  question  to  ask  is,  how  this  danger  arises.  My 
brethren,  it  must  come  from  the  secret  loosening  of 
those  ties  which  bind  us  to  Christ  our  Lord,  and  thus 
are  the  means  through  which  His  Spirit  flows  forth 
into  us.  For  since  the  soul's  life  is  from  Him,  if  He 
cease  to  quicken,  we  cease  to  live.  Let  the  sun  with- 
draw his  quickening  rays,  and  the  world  of  nature  lan- 
guishes. Let  Christ  Our  Lord  withdraw  His  power, 
and  an  equal  deadness  will  possess  the  world  of  grace. 

The  decay  of  man's  spirit,  therefore,  must  come  from 
those  secret  declinings,  whereby  we  cease  to  hold  on  to 
Him.  Such  are  the  neglect  of  prayer,  the  failure  of 
watchfulness  and  self-denial.  These  are  rather  to  be 
mentioned  than  the  neglect  of  those  outward  means, 
whereby  Christ  joins  us  to  Himself,  because  to  forego 
them  is  an  open  and  avowed  act,  about  which  none  can 


124 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


deceive  themselves ;  but  to  use  them  without  inward 
earnestness  and  reUsh  is  the  most  natural  manner  in 
which  spiritual  sloth  assaults  the  heart.  This  is  why 
sloth  is  spoken  of  as  the  last  and  most  dangerous  of 
those  ''deadly  sins/'  against  which  we  have  just  be- 
sought God  in  the  words  of  our  Litany.  The  man 
gains  the  habit,  as  it  were,  of  using  his  eyes  without 
seeing ;  he  comes  to  Church,  but  does  not  inwardly  ap- 
prehend Christ's  presence ;  he  comes  to  the  altar,  but 
does  not  discern  the  Lord's  Body ;  he  uses  words  of 
prayer  in  private,  but  his  heart  is  not  there — such  are 
some  of  the  steps  by  which  spiritual  sloth  benumbs 
the  soul,  and  builds  up  a  wall  between  man  and  his 
Saviour. 

Now,  if  the  only  difference  was  a  deficiency  in  the 
acuteness  of  his  feelings,  this  might  be  traced  to  bodily 
causes;  it  might  be  a  grief,  but  could  not  be  a  sin. 
Sometimes,  no  doubt,  the  unseen  world  presses  upon  us 
with  unwonted  power,  the  gift  of  tears  and  fervency  is 
more  largely  dispensed,  and  the  soul  can  cast  itself  with 
unusual  earnestness  upon  God.  The  possession  of  such 
feelings  is  to  be  desired :  the  want  of  them  is  no  proof 
that  men  are  fallen  from  grace.  Their  want  may  be 
supplied  by  greater  humility,  seriousness,  faith  and 
obedience :  let  us  only  truly  realize  the  presence  and 
power  of  Christ  our  Saviour,  and  whatever  be  the  tem- 
porary intensity  of  the  spiritual  frame,  we  may  address 
ourselves  to%  Him  through  those  means  whereby  we 
know  that  He  gives  Himself,  and  say,  "  I  will  not  let 
Thee  go  except  thou  bless  me."  This  is  the  very  mys- 
tery of  Our  Lord's  Incarnation,  that  having  joined 
Himself  to  our  nature,  He  has  appointed  means  of 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


125 


grace  whereby  we  may  be  assured,  if  we  come  sincerely, 
that  we  are  joined  to  Him,  and  therefore  cannot  lose 
His  presence.  Our  spirits  are  not  required  to  raise 
themselves  by  their  own  inward  buoyancy  to  the  great 
Spirit  of  the  Universe — a  reach  too  high  for  man's 
weakness,  and  which,  in  the  hour  of  our  dejection,  we 
could  hardly  attempt — but  "  God  is  in  Christ  reconcil- 
ing the  world  unto  Himself"  To  Him  we  may  come 
even  in  our  hour  of  sorrow,  and  cast  ourselves  upon 
Him,  as  one  who  has  experienced  our  weakness,  and  is 
acquainted  with  our  griefs. 

The  case,  then,  of  which  we  speak  is  not  that  of  the 
man  who  faints  from  weakness,  is  assaulted  by  doubts, 
or  cast  down  by  dejection — such  a  man  may  and  must 
betake  himself  to  his  present  Saviour ;  and  the  humility 
of  the  broken  heart  will  never  be  despised.  What  we 
speak  of  is  the  case  of  those  who  feel  no  such  perplexity, 
in  whom  the  benumbing  influence  of  sin  has  extin- 
guished, or  at  least  deadened,  the  sense  of  want ;  who 
live  tolerably  well  satisfied  with  their  state,  but  without 
any  living  perception  of  the  reality  of  Christ's  gifts,  or 
any  fervent  desire  of  His  presence.  Is  such  considered 
to  be  an  unusual  case  ?  Alas!  it  is  fearfully  common. 
And  whence  does  it  arise  ?  There  may  be  many 
causes :  but  none  perhaps  are  more  usual  than  success 
in  the  world,  an  easy  course  of  prosperity,  unbroken 
health,  a  lively  sense  of  pleasure,  and  the  society  of 
worldly  friends.  These  things  make  up  what  is  called 
a  prosperous  lot  in  this  world ;  and  unless  for  the  signal 
grace  of  God,  they  are  enough  in  themselves  to  ruin  a 
man's  soul. 

For  how  easily  does  worldly  success  occupy  the 


126 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


heart.  How  apt  it  is  to  conjure  up  gaudy  visions,  which 
till  a  man's  imagination  and  possess  his  souL  He  dwells 
upon  his  schemes,  he  enlarges  to  himself  upon  the  en- 
larging amount  of  his  possessions ;  by  this  step  perhaps 
his  family  will  be  provided  for,  thus  will  he  attain  the 
distinction  which  he  covets :  so  he  goes  on,  such 
thoughts  follow  him  to  the  House  of  God ;  in  his  closet 
they  build  up  a  wall  between  him  and  Christ ;  prayer 
is  of  little  moment  to  him,  the  unseen  world  is  not  pre- 
sent to  his  thoughts — where  his  treasure  is,  there  will 
his  heart  be  also.  In  like  manner  does  worldly  society 
and  the  love  of  pleasure  take  possession  of  the  heart. 
'^She  that  liveth  in  pleasure,"  says  the  Apostle,  "is 
dead  while  she  liveth."  It  besots  the  heart,  the  strict- 
ness of  the  Gospel  rule  becomes  distasteful,  prayer, 
self-denial,  watchfulness,  become  wearisome,  are  neg- 
lected or  forgotten. 

Or  again,  to  take  a  quite  different  instance;  a  bitter, 
censorious,  and  uncharitable  temper,  has  a  similar  effect 
in  deadening  the  soul.  It  destroys  that  affectionate, 
loving,  simple  affiance,  whereby  we  should  hold  inter- 
course with  Christ  Our  Lord.  Uncharitable  words  or 
unkind  feelings  are  like  a  rankling  sore,  which  disable 
the  soul,  when  it  should  move  forth  in  love  to  its  Sa- 
viour. Yet  this  temper  often  arises  in  men,  who  are 
little  conscious  of  their  own  defects  :  even  religion  is  in 
danger  of  degenerating  into  party  spirit,  and  the  very 
service  of  God  may  in  this  way  become  the  hindrance 
to  its  own  success. 

These  are  some  examples  of  that  danger  under  which 
we  all  lie,  of  going  backward  in  our  spiritual  course. 
The  cause  of  all  such  evils  is  the  neglect  of  a  due  use 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


127 


of  God's  grace :  the  remedy  of  tliem  must  be  a  more 
earnest  love,  and  a  greater  watchfulness.  Yet  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  they  grievously  displease  God,  and  that 
men's  souls  therefore  are  fearfully  perilled  by  them. 
For  the  very  purpose  of  our  being  is  that  we  should  be 
fitted  here  for  God's  service.  And  why  did  Christ  Our 
Lord  take  our  nature,  save  that  we  should  put  on  His  ? 
His  purified  and  exalted  manhood  was  designed  to  be 
the  renewing  leaven  of  our  defiled  and  sensual  humanity- 
This  is  the  very  object  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  in 
which  those  who  are  born  heirs  of  sin  are  new-born 
into  the  fellowship  of  their  Saviour,  that  the  pure,  the 
heavenly,  the  spiritual  seed  may  quicken  that  which  is 
earthly  and  grovelling.  Why  else  are  there  Sacraments 
wherein  we  may  be  made  one  with  Christ,  and  prayers 
whereby  we  may  maintain  our  perpetual  alliance  with 
Him?  And  what  can  more  offend  Him  than  that 
the  love  of  this  world  should  so  besot  us,  that  this  our 
glorious  portion  should  be  hidden  from  our  eyes  ? 

Thus  is  the  Spirit  grieved  and  quenched.  No  outward 
force  can  overpower  it.  It  is  proof  against  all  assaults 
to  separate  men  from  God.  But  inward  unfaithfulness 
can  estrange  it.  When  Our  Great  Head  was  in  the  flesh, 
the  sharpest  assaults  of  Satan  were  made  upon  Him  in 
vain.  For  since  there  was  no  weakness  within,  they 
were  of  necessity  only  external  attacks.  Therefore 
every  weapon  of  Satan  rebounded  from  His  invincible 
armour.  But  with  us,  how  poor,  weak,  timid,  worthless 
a  temptation  is  often  fatal  to  our  peace !  The  reason 
is,  that  we  have  an  inward  enemy.  The  grace  of  God 
indeed  has  been  bestowed  on  all  those  who  have  been 
elected  into  His  Church.    Were  it  not  for  this,  there 


128 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


would  be  no  basis  on  which  to  build  a  Christian  educa- 
tion. But  then  concupiscence  is  not  eradicated.  And 
therefore  it  is  that  Satan  possesses  so  much  power  to 
hurt.  And  thereby  is  the  very  object  of  man's  being 
defeated,  and  the  merciful  purposes  of  Christ  our  Sa- 
viour are  brought  to  naught. 

Now  it  is  with  an  especial  view  of  guarding  against 
this  danger  that  the  present  season  is  set  apart.  From 
a  feeling  of  the  perpetual  risk  which  we  run  from 
Satan's  assaults,  and  from  our  own  weakness,  the  Church 
yearly  calls  us  to  examine  our  estate  towards  God  and 
man,  and  to  set  apart  this  season  for  a  serious  survey 
of  our  condition,  and  an  earnest  attempt  after  a  closer 
walk  with  God.  The  need  of  especial  times  for  reflec- 
tion and  self-denial,  is  apparent  from  the  examples  of 
all  holy  men.  No  man  has  ever  made  a  great  ascent 
towards  God,  who  has  not  used  every  means  of  guard- 
ing against  his  heart's  deceitfulness.  True  it  is  that 
such  seasons  may  be  used  unprofitable,  or  even  made  an 
evil :  we  may  think  their  observance  an  excuse  for 
greater  worldliness  at  other  times,  or  we  may  be  proud 
of  ourselves,  because  we  use  this  season  of  humiliation 
more  devoutly  than  others.  This  is  like  the  conduct  of 
those  who  suppose  that  to  serve  God  on  the  Lord's  day, 
is  an  excuse  for  serving  Satan  during  the  week.  But 
the  fitting  and  natural  use  of  such  a  season  is  that  to 
which  the  Church  exhorts  us,  that  by  devoting  a  part 
of  the  year  to  God's  peculiar  service,  we  may  be 
strengthened  to  serve  Him  more  fervently  all  the  rest. 

And  such  a  practice  is  more  especially  needed  in  the 
present  day,  when  the  Church  and  the  world  are  so 
blended  together,  that  the  Church  cannot  make  rules 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


129 


or  devise  expedients  for  the  better  discharge  of  her 
work,  unless  they  are  approved  and  ordered  by  the 
rulers  of  the  world.  Now  this  time  of  Lent  is  the  only 
public  usage  which  remains  to  her  as  a  peculiar  means 
either  of  testifying  against  the  unconverted,  or  of  arous- 
ing the  forgetful  to  renewed  devotion.  Something  is 
done  in  that  Commination  Service,  which  is  her  solemn 
appeal  to  God  against  the  Avaywardness  of  her  children. 
But  when  we  look  upon  the  vast  crowds  of  Heathen 
Christians,  who  not  only  fill  our  prisons,  but  throng  our 
market  places,  we  see  that  some  more  especial  means 
are  needed  for  their  conversion.  It  is  vain  to  speak  to 
them  in  Church,  where  they  never  come  to  listen.  The 
Church  needs  to  go  to  seek  them  amidst  the  loathsome 
haunts  of  misery  and  sin,  and  to  testify  to  them  of  the 
wrath  to  come.  Heaven  and  Hell,  Salvation  and 
Judgment,  need  to  be  preached  by  Missionaries  in  the 
lanes  and  alleys  of  our  cities,  as  much  as  on  the  lonely 
shores  of  Gentile  barbarism. 

For  these  ends  our  present  system  has  hardly  made 
sufficient  provision.  And  the  decent,  orderly,  undeviat- 
ing  rule,  which  is  adapted  rather  to  build  up  the 
believer  than  to  convert  the  careless,  is  not  unlikely  also 
to  be  even  injurious  to  those  who  have  a  more  earnest 
view  of  things.  When  all  goes  on  in  a  smooth  and 
equal  manner,  there  is  nothing  to  cast  men  upon  first 
principles,  and  to  make  them  take  serious  account  of 
their  state.  Some  interruption  then  of  their  ordinary 
condition  is  peculiarly  needed.  The  usual  habits  of 
life  may  thus  be  broken  up.  Men  may  have  time  to 
ask  themselves  where  their  heart  is  fixed,  and  to  take 
measure  of  those  eternal  things,  which  are  so  commonly 


130 


RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION. 


forgotten.  Tliey  may  open  their  hearts  perhaps  to 
God,  and  be  shocked  at  observing  that  year  has  passed 
after  year,  while  they  have  done  so  little  for  His  service, 
have  been  so  little  weaned  from  the  world,  have  made 
so  little  advance  in  the  love  of  His  will.  The  very 
breaking  off  from  worldly  cares  and  thoughts — the  re- 
nouncing of  pleasures — a  self-denying  and  restrained 
life,  will  be  great  helps  towards  such  an  examination. 
They  will  not  of  themselves  indeed  raise  the  soul  to 
heaven ;  for  this  God's  grace  only  can  effect,  but  the 
sacrifice  will  be  more  easily  kindled  into  a  flame,  if  the 
fuel  be  first  dried  and  prepared  for  it. 

Now  with  a  view  of  effecting  this  object,  men  should 
have  an  especial  rule  of  life  at  the  present  season,  by 
which,  so  far  as  may  be,  they  should  regulate  them- 
selves ;  they  should  cut  off  something  from  their  com- 
mon indulgences,  and  give  themselves  to  a  serious 
examination  of  their  inward  state.  The  daily  use  of 
some  of  the  Penitential  Psalms  might  be  superadded  to 
their  common  devotions,  and  might  be  made  to  have 
special  reference  to  their  past  sins,  and  to  the  work 
wherein  they  are  occupied.  To  go  into  particulars 
Avould  be  more  fitting  as  a  matter  of  private  advice  than 
of  public  recommendation.  Of  course  any  such  attempt 
would  be  found  burthensome  by  those  who  are  con- 
tented with  the  easy,  careless,  popular  religion  which 
is  prevalent  among  men.  But  after  all,  time  is  short, 
eternity  is  long. 

And  there  is  this  peculiar  advantage  in  the  present 
season  of  self-examination  and  of  self-denial,  that  it 
connects  itself  with  the  great  principles  of  man's  reno- 
vation.   For  the  Church's  time  of  revival  is  not  built 


RELIGIOUS  DECLEXSIOX. 


131 


upon  grounds  of  reason  or  philosophy,  but  upon  the  imi- 
tation of  Christ.  Our  strength  is  in  His  oneness  with 
us,  who,  by  the  Sacraments  of  His  grace  vouchsafes  to 
bestow  His  hallowed  nature  as  the  consecrating  prm- 
cij)le  of  ours.  It  is  the  characteristic  of  Lent  that  its 
observance  is  associated  with  the  fellowship  of  His 
sufferings,  and  the  remembrance  of  His  death.  Our 
time  of  repentance  has  been  assigned  to  those  days 
wherein  He  was  preparing  for  His  trial,  that  our  joy 
may  be  reserved  for  the  seasons  which  commemorate 
His  triumph.  Blessed  is  their  portion  who  are  con- 
formed to  the  likeness  of  His  death,  that  they  may  l)e 
also  to  the  likeness  of  His  resurrection.  To  them  it  is 
no  unnatural  and  forced  compliance  with  an  outward 
rule  to  look  on  Lent  as  a  season  of  mourning,  because 
their  Lord's  actions  have  cast  their  shadow  upon  all  the 
years  of  His  Church's  existence.  Thus  does  the  death 
of  the  Head  of  our  race  minister  to  the  Hfe  of  His  mem- 
bers. The  world  could  not  be  meant  to  be  a  mere 
scene  of  mirth,  which  was  to  Him  a  place  of  mourning ; 
and  that  season  cannot  be  indifferent  to  us,  which  was 
marked  by  His  agony.  Surelj'  if  this  feeling  is  ever 
lost,  it  will  be  a  sign  that  the  Church  has  lost  her  first 
love.  Let  us  seek  to  have  our  part  in  Our  Saviour  s 
sorrows,  that  we  may  be  partakers  also  of  his  joy. 


SERMON  XII. 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


Philippians  ii.  8. 

^'  Being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  He  humhled  Himself  and  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross'' 

We  are  come  near  to  that  season,  when  those  mighty 
things  happened,  of  which  the  Epistle  reminds  us.  It 
tells  of  the  voluntary  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Now  this  week  it  was,  that  His  humiliation  was  com- 
pleted. 

Let  us  consider  wherein  it  lay.  It  had  three  several 
stages.  It  consisted  of  Our  Lord's  Incarnation,  His 
servitude,  and  His  death.  The  first  of  these  was  by 
far  the  greatest  of  all.  For  that  Our  Lord  should 
become  man,  was  a  far  greater  descent,  than  that  when 
He  was  man  He  should  suffer  contempt  and  death. 
Contempt  and  death  are  man's  natural  portion ;  but 
to  be  conjoined  to  weak  manhood  is  not  natural  to  God. 
Therefore,  to  descend  from  the  glory  of  heaven,  to  unite 
the  native  majesty  of  His  inconceivable  Godhead  to  the 
infirmity  of  human  flesh,  was  a  far  wider  step  than  that 
other  from  the  manger  at  Bethlehem  to  the  cross. 
This  service  Our  Lord  mercifully  undertook,  that  He 


134 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


might  bring  the  glory  and  excellence  of  Godhead,  and 
leaven,  therewith  the  whole  lump  of  man's  defiled  being. 
All  holiness  must  come  from  God,  as  well  as  all  knowl- 
edge ;  and  the  only  channel  through  which  they  come, 
is  that  man's  nature  of  Christ  Our  Lord  which  He  took, 
that  He  who  was  one  with  the  Father,  might  be  one 
also  with  us.  This  is  the  true  J acob's  ladder,  whereby 
heaven  and  earth  are  joined  together. 

And  in  this  act  we  have  the  greatest  instance  of  Our 
Lord's  condescension,  because  it  was  the  humiliation  (if 
we  may  so  express  it)  of  His  Godhead.  The  Godhead 
itself  was  so  far  humbled  as  to  be  one  with  our  flesh. 
Whatever  glory  could  be  ascribed  to  Christ,  when  He 
came  into  this  lower  world ;  if  all  the  earth  had  greeted 
Him  as  its  head,  if  all  mankind  had  bowed  the  knee 
before  Him,  had  admitted  His  rule,  had  obeyed  His 
commandments — still  it  would  not  the  less  have  been 
a  humbling  of  His  divine  nature,  that  it  should  in  any 
wise  have  been  associated  to  our  flesh.  The  event, 
then,  which  was  revealed  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the 
hour  of  the  Annunciation,  which  that  feast  recalls  to 
our  thoughts,  was  the  greatest  of  all  acts  of  Our  Lord's 
humiliation.  The  first  step  from  heaven  to  earth  was 
greater  than  any  by  which  it  was  succeeded.  He  was 
wKule  man. 

And  now  comes  the  second  step — Our  Lord's  servi- 
tude. When  He  made  Himself  of  no  reputation,  it  was 
by  taking  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant.  He  did 
not  come  in  the  pomp  of  worldly  magnificence,  clothing 
Himself  with  whatever  glory  belongs  to  this  earth 
which  He  had  made.  He  was  not  born  into  an  house 
which  possessed  ancient  wealth  or  present  authority, 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


135 


but  a  lowly  roof  sheltered  His  cradle,  and  His  Body 
was  laid  in  an  ordinary  grave.  And  as  this  was  the 
case  in  the  first  stage  of  His  life,  and  in  its  last  one,  so 
in  all  which  went  between.  "  He  came  unto  His  own, 
and  His  own  received  Him  not." 

And  not  only  did  the  men  whom  He  had  made  reject 
Him,  but  He  seldom  exercised  His  power  even  over  the 
creatures,  of  whose  existence  He  was  the  only  cause. 
Though  air  and  earth  owed  their  being  to  Him,  yet  He 
consented  to  live  upon  their  bounty,  as  though  He  were 
one  of  their  common  pensioners.  Certain  women  who 
followed  Him  out  of  Galilee,  ^'  ministered  unto  Him  of 
their  substance."  The  wonderworking  power,  which 
He  exerted  so  freely  for  the  conviction  of  others,  was 
never  exerted  for  His  own  support.  He  employed  no 
guard,  though  His  effectual  voice  could  at  any  moment 
have  summoned  twelve  legions  of  angels  to  His  aid. 
Wherefore  should  this  be  so  ?  That  Our  Lord  might 
put  on  the  perfectness  of  that  man's  nature,  which  he 
shared  with  ourselves.  "  It  became  Him,  by  whom  are 
all  things,  and  through  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing 
many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the  captain  of  their 
salvation  perfect  through  sufferings."  Had  He  called 
in  the  succour  of  that  external  power,  of  which  He  was 
never  deprived.  His  man's  being  would  not  have  trod- 
den the  perfect  road  of  humanity.  One  effect  indeed 
His  Godhead  must  needs  possess :  through  the  union  of 
that  Divine  perfection,  of  which  He  could  not  be  desti- 
tute, manhood  was  m  Him  alone  free  from  the  weak- 
ness, and  therefore  from  the  sinfulness,  which  in  all 
other  cases  belongs  to  it.  But  He  did  not  resort  to 
His  divine  power  to  ward  off  those  assaults  of  pain,  or 


136 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


hunger,  or  temptation,  by  which  His  manhood  was 
attacked.  "  He  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  without  sin." 

And  since  He  chose  to  tread  the  path  of  man  s  life 
in  its  completeness,  it  made  Httle  difference  what  path 
He  chose.  The  paths  of  life,  it  is  true,  seem  to  us  to 
be  far  removed — but  they  all  meet  in  the  grave.  One 
man  has  wealth,  honour,  health :  sickness,  want,  and 
forge tfulness,  are  allotted  to  another :  but  both  must 
die.  Death  is  the  grand  leveller.  Men  who  owned  the 
widest  fields,  take  no  more  room  than  their  neighbours 
in  the  grave.  Not  to  a  divine  Being,  a  Being  who  is 
eternal,  to  whom  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  how 
infinitely  insignificant  must  be  such  shortlived  dis- 
tinctions. All  talents  are  valuable  no  doubt,  if  men 
use  them  for  God's  glory  and  their  neighbours'  good ; 
but  in  themselves  how  infinitely  insignificant  they  are. 
It  was  but  a  small  thing,  therefore,  that  He  who  stooped 
so  wonderfully  to  be  a  man,  should  have  stooped  low 
enough  to  be  a  man  of  griefs.  He  took  our  common 
nature  in  its  most  usual  form.  He  was  a  man  of  the 
people.  Nay,  He  was  poorest  among  the  poor.  He 
had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  His  taking  manhood 
at  all  was  the  humbling  of  His  Divine  nature,  and  as 
man  He  further  stooped  to  be  beholden  to  His  brethren. 
"  He  took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant." 

And  yet  there  was  one  step  more  of  humiliation, 
which  is  recorded  in  the  text.  "He  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  Cross."  "  He  hid 
not  His  face  from  shame  and  spitting."  "  In  His  hu- 
miliation His  judgment  was  taken  away."  He  was 
doomed  by  unjust  judgment  to  a  cruel  and  disgraceful 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


137 


deatli.  He  sliared  the  portion  of  malefactors,  as  though 
He  had  been  participator  in  their  transgressions.  This 
was  the  crowning  act  of  all :  the  last  stage  in  the  his. 
tory  of  His  condescension.  That  He  should  have 
allowed  His  soul  to  be  separated  from  His  body,  should 
have  submitted  to  that  awful  and  mj'sterious  process 
which  awaits  us  all,  when  the  succours  of  reason  fail, 
and  the  light  of  life  bums  down  into  its  socket,  and 
man's  spirit  is  torn  away  from  the  body,  we  know  not 
how  nor  whither — this  surely  was  the  completion  of  Our 
Lord's  abasement.  It  was  not  in  itself  no  doubt  so 
wonderful  that  He  should  die,  as  it  was  that  He  should 
be  born :  it  was  but  the  following  up  of  that  which 
His  taking  our  nature  at  all  had  commenced;  yet  it 
was  the  last  act  in  this  wonderful  descent :  its  crowning 
mystery :  it  put  the  finish  to  His  human  actions:  '^He 
became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
Cross." 

Such,  brethren,  is  the  three-fold  stage  of  Our  Lord's 
humiliation :  the  steps  by  which  He  trod  His  way  from 
the  glory  of  heaven  to  the  abasement  of  the  Cross. 
And  have  we,  for  whom  all  this  was  done,  no  interest 
in  it  ?  Is  it  notliing  to  3-ou  and  me  that  such  acts 
should  have  been  performed  ?  Are  we  not  deeply  con- 
cerned in  drawino'  from  it  its  due  effect  ?  It  miaht 
almost  be  thought  not,  from  the  indifference  with  which 
too  many  Christians  see  the  return  of  the  solemn  sea- 
so:i,  when  these  great  events  had  their  completion.  For 
the  Church's  year  is  fixed  by  those  great  events,  which 
befell  the  Son  of  Man.  Its  times  are  settled,  not  by 
reference  to  your  concerns  or  mine,  but  they  depend  on 

Him,  in  whom  onlv  the  whole  race  of  man  is  interested. 

10 


138 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


From  His  birth  into  the  world  do  they  follow  Him  to 
His  grave,  and  then  attend  Him  to  His  glory.  Thus 
it  is  that  all  the  Sundays  of  the  year  are  appointed. 
They  are  the  weekly  memory  of  Our  Lord's  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead.  The  Jews  kept  the  seventh  day, 
because  on  it  God  rested  from  His  work  of  Creation : 
we  keep  Sunday,  because  Christ  rested  from  that  still 
greater  work,  wdiereby  He  re-created  the  world. 

And  more  especially  does  this  come  out  at  the  pre- 
sent season.  For  the  Great  or  Holy  Week  of  the 
Christian  year  is  before  us.  In  this  week  every  thing 
tells  us  of  Our  Lord's  actions.  We  know  every  day 
what  He  was  doing :  each  day  leads  on  to  that  great 
deed,  which  was  completed  on  Good  Friday.  Now  my 
fear  is,  that  Christians  make  not  enough  of  this.  In 
some  countries  and  places  they  do ;  but  they  do  not 
among  us.  Why  do  I  say  so  ?  Because  if  they  did, 
it  would  of  necessity  leaven  their  words  and  thoughts. 
If  some  dear  friend  were  ill  at  a  distant  place,  would 
he  not  occupy  your  thoughts  ?  When  news  came  from 
the  place  where  he  was,  would  you  not  find  time  to 
attend  to  it  ?  You  would  intermit  your  business,  how- 
ever material,  that  you  might  listen  to  it. 

Now,  if  men  had  the  same  interest  in  the  doings  of 
Christ,  they  could  not  choose  but  give  attention  to  them 
likewise.  We  should  not  need  to  ask  you  to  come  and 
take  part  here  in  our  Easter  services,  as  though  it  were 
a  benefit  to  ourselves.  Every  day  this  week  the  Church 
bids  us  to  hold  worship  here,  evening  as  well  as  morn- 
ing :  every  day  we  set  forth  what  Christ  Our  Lord  was 
doing  or  suflering  in  those  periods  which  divide  this 
last  week.    And  have  you  no  heart  to  take  interest  in 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


139 


these  events  ?  What  I  desire  is,  that  your  souls  might 
go  along  with  this  season.  For  to-day  did  Our  Blessed 
Master  hold  His  triumphant  entrance  into  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  where  he  was  so  speedily  to  suffer.  Palm 
Sunday  we  call  it,  because  with  branches  of  palms  men 
heralded  His  approach.  Thus  did  He  come  in  triumph 
into  the  temple,  as  a  sign  of  that  more  glorious  entrance 
into  the  world,  which  will  be  witnessed  by  all  men  in 
His  last  descent.  But,  now,  it  was  not  the  Judge  who 
was  coming  to  doom,  but  the  victim  who  was  coming 
to  suffer.  He  was  brought  in  triumph  to  the  temple, 
the  true  Paschal  Lamb,  who  had  appeared  after  so 
many  years  of  waiting — the  real  offering  for  sins,  the 
real  food  of  His  people.  Those  who  attend  upon  Him 
every  year  on  Palm  Sunday,  will  be  more  prepared  to 
wait  on  Him  in  that  last  awful  progress,  when  those 
who  are  ready  will  go  in  with  Him  to  the  marriage  ere 
the  door  is  shut. 

But  then  it  must  be  a  true  waiting  on  the  Son  of 
man.  What  is  the  way  of  waiting  on  Him  ?  Those 
who  wait  on  kings  adorn  their  bodies ;  but  those  who 
wait  on  the  King  of  kings  must  adorn  their  souls. 
They  must  wash  them  from  those  sins  by  which  their 
service  would  be  polluted,  and  themselves  rendered  un- 
clean. They  must  wash  them  by  repentance,  confes- 
sion, absolution,  self-denial,  fasting,  and  tears,  in  that 
blood  of  the  true  Lamb  of  God,  which  only  takes 
away  the  sins  of  the  world.  For  by  these  healing 
remedies  do  we  profit  by  that  Blood  of  sprinkling, 
which  at  this  season  was  shed  for  the  salvation  of  man- 
kind. 

This  is  what  I  would  entreat  of  you  at  the  present 


140  PALM  SUNDAY. 

season.  I  would  call  you  to  a  close  reckoning  with 
your  own  hearts.  Number  up  your  secret  sins.  First 
confess  them  to  Almighty  God.  If  they  still  seem  so 
black  and  dangerous  that  you  need  further  assurance 
of  their  pardon,  then  seek  the  aid  of  Christ's  ministers. 
But  at  all  events  take  account  this  week  with  your 
own  hearts.  Join  yourself  in  spirit  to  Christ  your 
Lord.  Separate  yourselves,  as  far  as  you  can,  from  the 
vain  world.  Seek  your  Lord  in  this  His  house  of 
jDrayer.  Here  you  will  find  the  more  especial  presence 
of  Him  who  was  crucified.  You  will  hear  of  his  acts 
and  sufierings  :  every  thing  will  tell  of  Him,  who  loas 
your  sacrifice,  who  is  to  be  your  judge.  And  finally, 
brethren,  let  those  who  desire  to  be  one  with  Christ, 
seek  Him  at  this  season  at  His  holy  table.  Let  them 
come  now,  if  they  are  prepared  :  at  all  events  let  them 
come  on  Sunday  next,  and  keep  this  true  Passover. 
The  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  offers  Himself  to  be  food  of  souls.  By  eating 
His  flesh  may  you  be  made  one  with  Him.  Thus  may 
you  most  fully  share  in  all  those  divine  gifts,  which 
He  bestowed  when  He  took  our  nature.  Oh  that  you 
would  seek  after  Him,  whom  truly  to  know  is  eternal 
life. 


SERMOX  XIII. 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


St.  Matthew,  xxvii.  54. 

"  When  the  centurion,  and  they  that  were  with  him  watching  Jesus,  saw 
the  earthquake,  and  those  things  that  were  done,  they  feared  (jre.itly, 
saying,  Truly  this  icas  the  Son  of  God.'^ 

Such  were  the  natural  thoiiglits  even  of  uninstructed 
bystanders,  when  they  beheld  those  wonderful  events 
which  happened  at  this  season.  It  was  mid-day,  that 
is,  about  the  sixth  hour  :  and  "  there  was  darkness  over 
all  the  earth  unto  the  ninth  hour."  "  And  behold  the 
veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom :  and  the  earth  did  quake  and  the  rocks 
rent;  and  the  graves  were  opened."  Such  a  shock 
was  given  to  universal  nature  as  might  be  expected  to 
attend  the  sufferings  of  its  King.  When  a  man  dies, 
his  house  is  shut  up,  his  friends  are  clothed  in  mourn- 
ing, all  that  belonged  to  him  witnesses  to  the  mighty 
reverse  which  has  befallen  its  owner.  Earth,  and  all 
that  is  in  it,  had  been  made  for  man's  inhabitation  :  it 
is  his  dwelling,  his  possession,  his  field  of  labour,  enter- 
prize  and  dfscovery.  "  Thou  makest  him  to  have  do- 
minion over  the  works  of  Thv  hands,  and  Thou  hast 
put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.    All  sheep 


142 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


and  oxen ;  yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field."  Such  sym- 
pathy of  universal  nature  might  be  expected,  therefore, 
to  attend  the  sufferings  of  the  true  Heir  and  Head  of 
man's  race.  When  the  first-born  fell  in  Egypt  there 
was  a  great  cry  made,  because  there  was  not  an  house 
where  there  was  not  one  dead.  And  when  the  first-born 
of  mankind  fell  by  a  cruel  and  untimely  stroke;  when 
the  common  Representative  and  Head  of  Adam's  chil- 
dren'was  taken  out  of  the  world,  reason  was  that 
the  whole  visible  creation  should  suffer  with  its  King. 

For  this  is  the  manner  in  which  we  should  regard 
those  sufferings  of  Our  Lord,  which  to-day  recalls. 
They  were  not  an  ordinary  case  of  death:  the  close  of 
life  to  one  however  distinguished :  it  was  not  merely 
that  the  greatest,  wisest,  holiest  man  who  ever  lived, 
expired  amidst  insults  and  agonies — no,  what  happened 
to-day  was  the  endurance  of  those  sufferings  of  which 
all  mankind  were  deserving,  the  actual  supporting  of 
that  common  load  of  evil,  which  all  the  sins  of  all  the 
innumerable  tribes  of  men  had  heaped  together.  "  He 
was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffer- 
ing of  death,  that  He,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste 
death  for  every  man." 

Would  you  see  the  wide  difference  between  this  event, 
and  all  others  which  could  ever  befall ;  consider  why 
death  is  to  be  feared  by  ordinary  mortals.  Death  is 
awful  for  two  reasons :  first,  for  what  we  leave — secondly, 
for  what  we  meet.  To  be  torn  away  from  the  well- 
known  scenes  to  which  we  are  accustomed;  from  the 
friends,  objects,  enjoyments,  habits,  and  piftsuits  of  life, 
is  a  violent,  and  therefore  fearful  change.  What  shock 
can  be  so  rude,  as  that  whereby  body  and  soul  are  rent 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


143 


asunder?  And  tlien  comes  the  thought,  what  hes  be- 
yond ?  What  unknown  and  awful  circumstances  may 
await  us  in  that  new  state  of  existence,  into  which  we 
pass  so  helpless  and  unaware.  For  there  lies  before  us 
in  its  immensity  the  unseen  world,  and  we  know  not 
how  or  where  we  shall  enter  upon  it ;  what  will  be  our 
thoughts  and  feelings^  our  knowledge  and  expectations, 
when  we  wake  up  to  the  discovery  of  its  wonders.  One 
moment  we  are  in  this  world,  with  all  its  busy,  fleeting 
cares — and  the  next  we  are  amidst  the  dread  unchange- 
ableness  of  eternity.  And  this  thought  renders  death 
awful  to  any  reflecting  mind. 

But  with  Christ  Our  Lord  it  was  wholly  otherwise. 
For  neither  was  death  the  unwilling  rending  asunder  of 
His  being ;  nor  was  the  state  in  which  it  landed  Him 
unknown.  On  the  contrary.  He  Himself,  when  His 
work  was  over,  dismissed  His  spirit.  "  No  man  taketh 
My  life  from  Me,"  He  says,  "  but  I  lay  it  down  of  My- 
self. I  have  power  to  la}^  it  down,  and  I  have  power 
to  take  it  again."  Nor  yet  was  the  unseen  world  hidden 
from  His  sight.  He  could  discern  its  secrets  even  when 
He  hung  upon  the  cross.  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with 
Me  in  Paradise."  For  "  I  go  to  My  Father,  and  your 
Father,  and  to  My  God,  and  your  God."  So  that  those 
things  which  make  death  appalling  could  be  no  horror 
to  Him.  It  was  not  the  mere  surrender  of  life,  but  the 
circumstances  under  which  He  surrendered  it,  which 
tried  the  constancy  of  the  Son  of  Man.  In  them  lay 
that  cup  of  bitterness,  to  drink  which  He  came  into  the 
world.  They  were  the  sufferings  whereby  the  Captain 
of  our  salvation  was  made  perfect. 

Now,  to  estimate  these  we  must  consider  two  things  : 


144 


GOOD  FEIDAY. 


first,  their  natural  effect,  had  any  other  endured  them : 
secondly,  their  peculiar  intensity,  when  supported  by 
the  great  Head  and  representative  of  mankind.  Their 
natural  effect  is  plain  enough  from  the  circumstances, 
which  this  week  brings  before  us.  For  His  death  was 
one  which  was  not  more  tormenting  to  the  body  than 
humiliating  to  the  mind.  It  was  the  death  of  traitors 
and  malefactors — beyond  all  others,  lingering,  public 
and  degraded.  It  exposed  Him,  in  His  very  hour 
of  agony,  to  the  desertion  of  friends  and  the  contempt 
of  enemies.  The  tribes  of  men  were  of  one  mind  in 
His  rejection :  God's  people  and  the  Heathen  were  for 
once  agreed :  the  bitterness  of  the  Jews  was  aided  by 
t'.ie  violence  of  the  Gentiles. 

Yet  were  these  things  but  the  outward  circumstances 
of  that  trial,  which  had  a  deeper  and  hidden  root  in  the 
inner  nature  of  the  perfect  victim.  For  these  were  things 
which  might  have  been  undergone  by  others  of  mankind. 
There  were  others  in  the  same  condemnation,  and  that 
justly,  receiving  the  due  reward  of  their  deeds.  But  the 
circumstance  which  gave  its  intensity  to  the  sufferings  of 
the  Son  of  Man,  was  shared  by  no  other  of  His  creatures. 
Its  cause  was  the  common  nature,  which  He  had  taken, 
that  so  He  might  be  the  great  proxy  for  mankind — He 
had  willed  to  be  the  Son  of  Man,  the  heir  and  repre- 
sentative of  people  of  our  general  nature,  on  whom 
pressed  that  collective  burthen,  which  all  the  countless 
families  of  men  had  united  to  produce.  Every  child  of 
Adam  is  doomed  to  death.  And  what  is  death  ?  It  is 
the  final  severing  of  soul  and  body,  when  those  causes 
which  are  continually  besieging  our  life,  gain  such  head 
that  they  can  no  longer  be  combated.    Take  your  own 


GOOD  FRIDAY.  145 

cases,  brethren.  This  year,  it  may  be,  you  have  suf- 
fered from  sickness.  Last  year,  perhaps,  your  body 
was  tried  by  want.  Before  that,  your  soul  was  racked 
by  sorrow.  The  loss  of  friends  may  have  melted,  or 
the  unkindness  of  enemies  torn  your  hearts.  By  such 
anguish  of  soul,  by  such  wastings  of  body,  is  the  life  of 
man  undermined  and  worn  out.  They  make  up  that 
load  of  suffering  and  infirmity,  under  which  the  strength 
of  nature  gradually  sinks.  And  then  comes  death, 
when  the  light  of  our  being  has  wasted  away,  when  the 
silver  cord  at  last  is  loosed,  and  the  golden  bowl  is 
broken.  These  several  events,  then,  are  so  many  parts 
of  death  :  those  which  you  have  gone  through  are  por- 
tions which  make  it  up,  stages  which  lead  to  it :  death 
is  but  the  gathering  together  and  summing  up  of  those 
many  blows,  which  pain  and  suffering  have  already 
aimed  at  the  citadel  of  your  life.  And  that  which 
haj)pens  to  you  happens  to  all  men  :  death  in  each  is 
but  the  summing  up  of  those  miseries,  to  which  life  is 
heir,  their  common  meeting,  their  result ;  when  at  last 
the  cup  overflows,  which  had  severally  received  them. 
And  what,  therefore,  is  death  at  large,  the  sentence 
passed  upon  our  first  parents,  by  which  their  whole 
race  must  finally  be  overtaken,  but  the  sum  of  all  griefs, 
by  which  the  children  of  men  have  ever  been  oppressed, 
either  in  body  or  in  soul  ?  It  is  the  result  of  all  the 
sufferings  of  all  the  men  who  ever  lived  or  ever  shall 
live,  till  the  angel's  trumpet  cuts  short  the  world's 
being ;  the  common  receptacle  in  which  all  the  miseries 
of  humanity  find  their  issue.  Alas,  how  many  they 
are  !  How  vast  that  mass  of  human  suffering,  which 
has  its  ever-increasing  source  in  human  crime  !  How 


146 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


innumerable  tlie  ills  of  the  body,  how  much  more  ter- 
rible the  ills  of  the  mind !  Our  great  Poet  has  repre- 
sented Adam  as  foreseeing  that  load  of  suffering  which 
was  about  to  visit  his  race. 

"  Immediately  a  place 
Before  his  eyes  appeared,  sad,  noisome,  dark : 
A  lazar-house  it  seemed :  wherein  were  laid 
Numbers  of  all  diseased  :  all  maladies 
Of  ghastly  spasm,  or  racking  torture,  qualms 
Of  heartsick  agony,  all  feverous  kinds, 
Convulsions,  epilepsies,  fierce  catarrhs, 
Intestine  stone  and  ulcer,  cholic  pangs, 
Demoniac  frenzy,  moping  melancholy. 
And  moonstruck  madness,  pining  atrophy, 
Marasmus  and  wide-wasting  pestilence. 
Dropsies,  and  asthmas,  and  joint-racking  rheums, 
Dire  was  the  tossing,  deep  the  groans,  despair 
Tended  the  sick,  busiest  from  couch  to  couch. 
Sight  so  deform  what  heart  of  rock  could  long 
Dry-eyed  behold  ?    Adam  could  not,  but  wept, 
Though  not  of  woman  born." 

This  sore  travail  hath  God  given  to  the  sons  of  men 
to  be  exercised  therewith."  Now,  add  all  this  together, 
and  you  make  up  what  was  set  before  our  first  parents 
under  the  name  of  death.  For  all  these  are  but  its 
preparatory  portions.  "  All  rivers  run  into  the  sea/' 
and  death  is  that  ocean,  in  which  the  countless  sorrows 
and  pangs  of  all  the  children  of  men  are  gathered 
together.  For  all  those  things  which  make  part  of  the 
separation  of  soul  and  body,  are  included  in  that  general 
name,  by  which  their  separation  is  expressed. 

And  now  then  you  may  better  understand  this 
wonderful  event,  that  the  son  of  God  tasted  death  for 
every  man.    For  thereby  hath  He  "  borne  our  griefs 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


147 


and  carried  our  sorrows."  Had  He  of  whom  this  is 
spoken  been  a  common  man,  one  out  of  the  miUion,  it 
might  have  been  meant  only  that  He  took  His  single 
part  in  the  burthen,  wherewith  all  are  oppressed.  But 
what  benefit  had  this  been  to  His  fellows  ?  When  Christ, 
then,  bore  our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows,  it  was  not 
as  an  individual  in  the  countless  multitude,  He  did  not 
receive  His  share,  as  does  every  child  of  Adam — no.  He 
bore  the  burthen  alone,  and  of  the  peojDle  was  none 
with  Him.  He  became  the  representative  and  proxy  of 
mankind,  who  took  upon  His  single  self  the  accumulated 
burden  of  man's  offences.  "  For  the  transgression  of 
my  people  was  the  stroke  on  Him  "  "  He  Himself  bare 
our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree." 

When  He  grappled  therefore  with  death,  it  was  not 
under  that  harmless  form,  which  the  mere  act  of  escap- 
ing from  the  ills  of  life  might  lead  us  to  think  of — the 
enemy  whom  He  encountered  was  that  king  of  terrors, 
whom  the  sins  of  every  generation  of  mankind  had 
armed  against  themselves  and  their  children.  It  was 
not  simple  death — the  bare  ceasing  to  be  a  living  man — 
but  death  bearing  in  its  foul  entrails  all  the  pains,  and 
miseries,  and  griefs,  of  which  sin  had  been  the  cause, 
and  of  which  destruction  is  the  consequence,  to  which 
the  great  Son  of  Man  opposed  Himself,  as  its  only 
capable  antagonist.  As  all  sickness,  and  woe,  and  ill  is 
in  truth  a  part  of  death  and  included  in  it,  so  being 
raised  up'to  overcome  death,  as  its  single  subduer.  He 
grasped  at  once  in  His  mighty  outspread  arms  the 
whole  mass  of  its  hateful  and  deadly  materials. 

Here,  then,  you  see  the  nature  of  that  burden  which 
none  but  the  Son  of  God  would  have  been  sufiicient  to 


148 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


endure.  It  was  the  result  of  that  constitution  of  His 
being  which  made  Him  also,  the  true  Son  of  man,  the 
common  heir  of  humanity.  And  we  have  an  imperfect 
view  of  His  sufferings,  unless  we  feel  that  every  burden 
by  which  our  individual  being  is  oppressed  was  truly 
borne  in  its  intensity  by  Plim.  Be  it  sickness,  pain, 
want,  desertion — all  these  are  but  the  materials  which 
make  up  death,  and  He  who  drank  down  the  whole 
cup  of  God's  anger,  who  sustained  it  all  in  the  garden 
and  on  the  cross,  was  not  unconscious  surely  of  every 
ingredient  of  His  draught  of  bitterness. 

Thus  was  He  made  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin. 
Sorrow  and  sin  are  of  necessity  so  joined,  that  where 
the  last  is,  the  first  cannot  be  avoided ;  and  He  who 
took  upon  Himself  our  nature  in  its  actual  complete- 
ness, submitted  to  be  the  object  of  that  wrath,  which 
we  had  engendered.  To  par  ake  indeed  in  our  sin  was 
impossible ;  though  tempted  in  all  points,  He  was  with- 
out sin ;  but  the  heir  of  man's  nature  took  it  in  such 
perfect  wise,  that  He  inherited  all  those  fearful  conse- 
quences, from  which  sin  cannot  be  dissevered.  For  He 
was  so  perfectly  man,  that  whatever  belongs  to  man- 
hood finds  in  Him  its  expression. 

This  may  be  seen  in  His  freedom  from  those  condi- 
tions which  distinguish  any  peculiar  nation.  Our  Lord 
vouchsafed  to  be  born  among  the  Jews.  He  had  no 
earthly  instruction  save  in  their  learning.  And  yet 
He  rose  above  any  low  prejudices  which  had  settled 
upon  their  nation.  When  the  Samaritan  woman  sought 
Him,  or  the  Roman  centurion,  they  found  a  heart  which 
was  not  limited  by  the  narrow  bounds  of  Jewish  charity. 
And  in  like  manner.  His  words  in  Holy  Scripture  are 


"9 


GOOD  FRIDAY.  149 

SO  large  and  universal,  that  in  all  ages  can  all  tribes  of 
men  find  satisfaction  for  the  necessities  of  the  heart. 
Now  even  so  was  it  with  that  awful  burthen  of  grief, 
which  the  true  heir  of  humanity  was  contented  to  sup- 
port. He  bore  the  common  burthen  of  all  men,  and 
none  will  there  be  to  the  very  end  of  time  whose  indi- 
vidual grief  was  not  laid  in  that  hour  of  agony  on  the 
Almighty  victim. 

How  this  might  be,  it  is  not  given  to  us  fully  to  ex- 
plore. Two  things  there  are,  the  perfection  of  His 
man's  nature,  and  the  greatness  of  His  sympathy,  which 
combined  to  produce  it.  For  He  was  no  common  man. 
He  did  not  share  the  usual  birth  of  mortals :  He  had 
formed  for  Himself  a  Body  through  the  agency  of  God 
the  Holy  Ghost,  out  of  the  materials  of  man's  nature, 
and  in  the  Virgin's  womb  became  the  second  Adam,  in 
whom  manhood  was  set  forth  more  perfectly  than  in 
Adam  the  first.  Who  can  tell  what  mighty  power  of 
sufiering  might  be  enshrined  in  this  perfect  example  of 
our  nature;  how  far  its  common  relation  to  all  man- 
kind might  take  in  at  once  the  consequence  of  all  men's 
transgressions  ?  And  who,  then,  can  estimate  the  un- 
kno^m  agonies  of  His  passion  and  His  death  ?  Add  to 
this  that  greatness  of  love,  of  which  His  nature  was  the 
basis,  and  which  left  not  out  one  member  of  that  com- 
mon humanity,  which  He  vouchsafed  to  partake.  And 
then  think,  brethren,  whether  it  was  less  than  reason 
that  heaven  and  earth  should  sympathize  in  their  turn 
with  the  sufferings  of  such  a  victim.  Well  might  the 
sun  be  darkened,  the  rocks  be  rent,  when  the  one  re- 
presentative of  the  world's  inhabitants  was  achieving 
this  mighty  victory  in  their  behalf    When  He  bore 


150  GOOD  FRIDAY. 

that  load  of  grief  to  which  our  sins  contributed — of 
which  our  sorrows  were  a  part — which  was  swelled 
even  by  the  carelessness  of  those  many  dwellers  in  this 
land,  who  think  their  farm  or  their  merchandize  better 
worth  regarding  than  this  great  event. 

Oh,  brethren,  it  was  not  always  so;  there  were  those 
in  foruier  times,  who  were  not  less  moved  than  the  cen- 
turion by  this  spectacle.  Of  old  time  in  the  Christian 
Church,  men  passed  these  days  in  mourning  and  silence : 
they  communed  with  their  own  hearts  and  were  still. 
This  day,  especially,  and  to-morrow,  when  Our  Lord 
rested  in  the  grave,  whole  nations  were  wont  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  in  holy  dread  and  reverent  admiration.  They 
bethought  them  of  their  own  interest  in  that  great  work, 
which  the  Son  of  Man  was  at  this  season  effecting. 
They  could  not  feast  and  rejoice,  when  the  one  common 
Head  of  their  race  was  being  lifted  up  upon  the  cross 
before  their  eyes.  They  rather  chose  to  ponder  His 
acts,  to  recount  their  blessed  deeds  by  which  He  had 
effected  their  forgiveness,  to  count  over  His  wounds,  to 
tell  the  circumstances  of  His  passion. 

And  surely  it  was  a  blessed  custom:  it  spoke  a 
genuine  love  to  Him,  the  least  particular  of  whose  sor- 
rows should  not  be  indifferent  to  those  whom  He  died 
to  save.  Therefore  did  men  love  to  recount  and  dwell 
upon  those  single  acts  of  suffering,  which  together  made 
up  that  mighty  expiation.  They  sat  sorrowing  them- 
selves before  their  Master's  cross.  Brethren,  let  us  do 
so  likewise.  Let  us  retire  somewhat  to-day  from  the 
busy  world,  and  meditate  on  the  passion  of  Our  Great 
Deliverer.  Thus  let  us  learn  greater  hatred  for  those  sins, 
which  have  covered  the  earth  with  such  a  flood  of  evils. 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


151 


Oh,  Lord  Jesus, 

By  the  virtue  of  Thy  holy  prayer,  which  Thou  three 
times  prayedst : 

By  Thy  fearful  dread  of  death, 

By  all  that  unknown  labour  and  torment,  which 
Thou  sufFeredst  all  that  night, 

By  Thy  great  meekness,  which  did  not  refuse  to  l^e 
comforted  by  an  angel; 

In  all  times  comfort  us. 

By  Thy  thirst  and  tasting  of  gall  and  vinegar,  grant 
us  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  Thy  spirit. 

By  that  piteous  cry,  in  the  which  Thou  commendedst 
Thy  soul  to  Thy  Father, 

Our  souls  be  commended  to  Thee. 

By  the  bitterness  of  Thy  death,  and  the  intolerable 
pain,  wherewith  Thy  heart  brake ; 

By  the  opening  of  Thy  side  with  a  spear,  and  the 
flowing  out  of  Thy  most  precious  blood, 

Smite  through,  good  Lord,  my  heart  with  the  spear 
of  Thy  Godly  love. 


SERMON  XIY. 


EASTER. 


I.  Corinthians,  xv.  22. 

"As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  CJirist  s^iall  all  he  made  aliver 

With  these  words  does  our  Church  welcome  the  re- 
turn of  Easter.  Thus  does  she  remind  us  that  Christ 
is  the  new  Adam  of  man's  race.  From  Him  it  takes 
fresh  growth  :  Hke  our  first  father,  He  is  its  origin  and 
root. 

Let  us  view  this  truth  in  its  source  and  its  conse- 
quences. It  is  Christ  our  Lord  by  whom  we  are  thus 
quickened.  It  is  Christ,  and  not  the  Eternal  Father, 
of  whom  we  speak.  True,  He  is  one  with  the  Father  : 
the  Eternal  Word,  by  whom  all  things  were  created. 
In  this  character  therefore  is  He  the  Maker  of  man- 
kind. But  that  of  which  we  now  speak  is  something 
distinct  from  the  work  of  creation.  We  refer  to  the 
work  which  He  wrought  through  His  human  nature. 
Whatsoever  He  did,  was  wrought  by  One  who  was  also 
God  :  this  unity  could  never  be  divided ;  yet,  inasmuch 
as  in  His  one  person  there  were  ever  present  two 
natures,  human  and  divine,  He  could  work  now  through 


EASTER. 


153 


one,  and  now  tlirough  the  other.  And  however  the 
two  natures  were  in  their  operations  united,  they  were 
diverse  in  their  effects.  Go  create  unnumhered  worlds, 
to  exist  hefore  the  days  of  ancient  Abraham,  to  forgive 
sins,  to  heal  sicknesses,  to  discern  the  secrets  of  the 
heart,  these  were  the  proper  functions  of  that  Divine 
nature,  which  belonged  to  the  Son  of  God.  Through 
its  energy  could  He  walk  the  sea :  by  its  glory  was  He 
transfigured  on  the  mountain.  But  to  hunger  and 
thirst,  to  sit  weary  by  J acob's  well,  to  weep  for  kindred 
griefs,  to  be  sorrowful  under  mental  agonies,  to  sink 
under  the  cross,  to  suffer,  faint,  and  die — these  were 
the  human  properties  of  the  Man  of  sorrows.  Of  these 
things  Godhead  in  itself,  so  to  say,  is  incapable.  They 
belong  to  a  lower  nature.  They  pertain  to  those  who 
have  been  moulded  from  the  earth. 

Now  it  is  by  virtue  of  this  last  nature  that  Our  Lord 
has  become  a  new  head  to  man's  race.  Here  is  no 
question  of  creation :  it  is  not  the  rai^nig  of  a  new 
stock  out  of  the  parent  ground  :  the  ^s^ork  is  achieved 
hy  man  and  for  man  :  for  "  since  ty  man  came  death, 
by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  No 
words  can  prove  more  clearly  tZian  those  of  the  Aj^ostle, 
that  it  was  by  the  jDower  of  His  Immanity  that  our 
Master  triumphed.  He  gave  a  new  root  to  man's 
being,  but  it  was  through  the  virtue  of  that  real  man- 
hood, whereby  He  lived  among  us. 

And  now  let  as  consider,  Secondlj^,  what  is  meant 
by  this  humanity  of  Christ,  "^e  mean  that  He  pos- 
sesses the  true  nature  of  a  man,  save  that  His  body  is 
glorified.  A  man  He  still  is,  both  in  body  and  soul, 
but  so  penetrated  are  both  by  that  Godhead,  from 


154 


EASTER. 


which  they  can  never  be  separate,  that  both  of  them 
are  raised  to  a  height  of  surpassing  glory.  In  the 
mount  of  Transfiguration  this  glory  showed  itself  in 
somewhat  of  its  proper  character.  His  very  disciples 
looked  with  terror  at  the  brightness  of  that  counte- 
nance, in  which  mercy  and  compassion  had  their  usual 
seat.  After  His  resurrection,  likewise,  did  He  walk 
forth  with  somewhat  of  that  awe,  with  which  His 
glorified  manhood  was  properly  invested.  When  He 
entered  therefore  into  their  closed  assembly — when  He 
stood  on  the  tranquil  beach,  near  which  they  had  re- 
turned to  their  ancient  occupations — when  he  ascended 
finally  on  high,  they  saw  the  outskirts  of  His  glorified 
nature.  This  it  was,  which  when  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  beheld,  as  he  journeyed  over  the  sultry  sands 
towards  Damascus,  he  was  blinded  during  three  days  ^ 
by  a  radiance  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun.  Before 
this,  as  we  read  in  the  book  of  Revelations,  the  beloved 
Apostle  St.  JoVn  fell  down  as  though  dead. 

Such  was  the  ^wful  majesty  of  that  human  nature  of 
Our  Lord,  which  aU  His  true  servants  will  finally  re- 
semble. For  "He  shall  change  our  vile  bodies,  that 
they  may  be  like  unto  His  glorious  body."  And  we 
know  "  that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like 
Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  Yet  is  this  but 
the  outside  and  shell  of  that  inn^  glory,  which  dwells 
in  the  hidden  temple  of  His  soul.  Even  when  He  was 
upon  earth  God's  spirit  dwelt  in  Him  without  measure. 
Those  perfections,  which  have  since  discovered  them- 
selves in  His  outward  form,  were  truly  enlightening  the 
tabernacle  of  His  inward  spirit.    And,  therefore,  when 


EASTEE. 


155 


the  third  day  arrived,  after  He  had  offered  Himself 
without  spot  to  God,  He  woke  uj}  again,  to  take  to  Him 
His  great  j^ower  and  reign.  It  was  as  when  clouds 
have  hidden  the  sun  in  the  heavens:  but  let  winds 
chase  them  away,  and  the  lord  of  day  looks  forth  in  his 
strength.  So  did  Christ  rise  with  the  earliest  morning, 
as  though  the  powers  of  heaven  were  impatient  of  that 
delay  which  bomid  Him  to  the  dust.  Then  did  He  go 
forth,  the  true  bridegroom  out  of  His  chamber,  rejoicing 
as  a  giant  to  rim  His  course.  His  body,  too,  had  in 
one  sense  been  sown  in  dishonour,  but  it  was  raised  in 
glory ;  it  was  sown  in  weakness,  it  was  raised  in  power. 
The  tomb  could  not  hold :  the  stone  could  not  restrain 
Him.  He  rose,  but  with  our  nature,  to  lead  captivity 
captive,  and  receive  gifts  for  men. 

And  from  this  stock  was  to  be  the  growth  of  a  new 
race.  The  glorified  nature  of  Oui'  Lord  was  a  root 
from  which,  as  surely  as  from  oar  first  parent,  was 
there  to  be  a  line  transmitted.  Let  us  see,  then,  what 
it  is  to  die  in  Adam,  that  we  may  understand  more 
clearly  what  it  is  to  live  in  Christ.  Now  of  Adam  we 
know  that  his  nature  is  cruly  in  us.  We  are  literally 
bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh.  He  begat  a 
son  in  his  own  image :  that  image  was  ob^dously  inhe- 
rent. For  we  are  one  with  our  parents :  they  with 
those  who  gave  them  birth  :  and  thus  are  we  one  with 
our  most  distant  ancestors.  A  virtual  continuity  exists 
between  our  bodies  and  those  of  our  forefathers ;  and 
even  our  spirits  seem  in  some  respects  to  be  a  -part  of 
their  being.  For  are  there  not  habits  of  mind,  which 
descend  from  a  parent  to  liis  offspring;  and  whence 


156 


EASTER. 


were  these,  save  from  some  growth  out  of  a  common 
existence?  And  hence  is  derived  that  wide-spread 
taint,  which  we  call  original  sin. 

For  not  only  are  we  born  to  that  displeasure  with 
which  Almighty  God  regards  those  who  have  been 
withdrawn  from  His  service,  but  we  inherit  likewise, 
that  close-clinging  corruption,  which  spreads  through 
the  nature  of  man,  and  weakens  his  efforts.  And  these 
it  is,  which  involve  that  second  death,  which  is  the 
appointed  portion  of  the  finally  impenitent.  This  death 
is  quite  different  from  that  mere  separation  of  soul  and 
body  which  is  appointed  to  all  men.  It  means  the  loss 
of  union  with  God — the  loss  of  His  likeness — the  de- 
privation of  that  perfect  endowment  with  which  Adam 
was  created — the  forfeiture  of  that  close  intimacy  with 
their  Maker,  which  was  maintained  in  our  first  parents 
hy  the  eating  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  which  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  Paradise  of  God.  For  since  Almighty  God 
is  the  true  source  of  all  excellence,  from  which  flows 
everything  perfect,  as  the  rays  of  light  issue  from  the 
sun,  in  whose  presence  is  th^  fulness  of  joy,  at  whose 
right  hand  there  are  treasures  for  evermore — therefore 
to  lose  Him  is  to  lose  everything.  It  is  to  be  cast  forth 
upon  the  blank,  cold,  wretched  worH  of  nature,  without 
comfort  and  without  stay.  And  th'iS  is  that  second 
death,  of  which  the  incalculable  horrors  of  hell  are  the 
last  result,  but  of  which  separation  from  God  is  the  real 
principle.  And  this  fearful  effect  began  at  once  with 
Adam's  fall,  except  so  far  as  by  the  promise  of  a  Re- 
deemer it  was  held  in  check,  and  there  was  set  forth  a 
promise  that  those  who  had  died  in  the  first  Adam 
should  live  in  the  second. 


EASTER. 


157 


And  now,  then,  to  consider  what  is  this  living  in 
Christ  Our  Lord.  It  is  that  He  is  the  true  counterpart 
of  our  first  parents.  It  is,  that  as  truly  as  we  hold  of 
the  one,  so  truly  must  we  hold  of  the  other."^  That  as 
our  human  nature,  the  body  we  now  inhabit,  and  in 
some  measure,  eveaa  the  soul  we  now  possess,  are  in 
truth  portions  of  that  original  being  with  which  Adam 
was  invested,  so  truly  must  the  humanity  of  Christ 
penetrate  and  possess  our  whole  selves.  "'^For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
How  perfect,  observe,  is  the  contrast ;  as  though  there 
were  not  one  point  of  difference  between  our  dependence 
on  the  one  and  on  the  other.  We  must  be  affected  by 
Our  Lord's  nature — we  must  be  leavened  by  it — nay, 
as  out  of  Adam,  so  must  we  be  formed  out  of  Him. 
"  My  little  children,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  of  whom  I  travail 
in  birth  again,  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you." 

Now  here,  surely,  is  a  great  mystery.  Some  have 
been  used  to  think  of  it  as  though  it  aimed  merely  at 
a  resemblance  and  conformity  to  Christ,  as  though  it 
were  but  a  strong  way  of  enforcing  the  duties  of  faith 
and  obedience.  But  is  this  the  manner  in  which  we 
are  one  with  Adam?  Is  it  only  by  teaching  and  imita- 
tion that  we  follow  him?  Are  we  not  bone  of  his  bone, 
and  flesh  of  his  flesh  ?  Our  sin  does  not  come  merely 
by  following  his  steps,  but  by  sharing  his  corruption :  it 
will  not  sufiice,  then,  to  imitate,  unless  we  are  one  with 
Christ.    What  else  than  a  real  union  can  support  the 

*  It  is  not  designed  to  oppose  the  received  opinion  that  man's  Personality 
is  in  each  case  an  immediate  creation.  See  the  remarks  on  Creatianism 
and  Traducianism,  in  "The  Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,"  p.  41,  second 
edition. 


158 


EASTER. 


weight  of  the  Apostle's  argument?  As  the  first  man 
was  made  a  living  soul^  is  not  the  second  made  a  quick- 
ening spirit  ?  Unless  there  be  some  actual  influence 
which  lives  within  us^  whereby  the  effects  of  the  fall 
are  to  be  counteracted^  even  as  its  guilt  is  to  be  done 
away,  what  is  there,  like  that  which  destroyed  us  in 
Adam,  to  quicken  us  in  Christ  ? 

It  follows,  then,  that  there  must  be  some  real  and 
not  figurative  union  mth  Our  Lord,  and  also  that  this 
Union  must  depend  on  the  truth  of  His  humanity. 
For  it  is  in  His  character  of  the  Second  Man  that  He 
is  set  over  against  the  first.  Therefore  did  He  rise  to- 
day in  the  perfection  of  man's  nature,  and  not  cast  off 
those  garments  of  mortality  which  He  had  worn  for  us. 

And  this  may  explain  why  Holy  Scripture  dwells  so 
much,  as  it  clearly  does,  on  the  benefits  which  men 
receive  by  that  ordinance  of  Baptism  which  grafts 
them  into  the  body  of  Christ.  "For  by  one  spirit," 
says  St.  Paul,  "are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body." 
The  reason  is,  that  Baptism,  by  joining  men  to  Christ, 
even  as  their  first  birth  joined  them  to  Adam,  gives 
them  share  in  that  new  nature,  which  has  been  gained 
for  humanity  by  Christ.  As  our  first  birth  made  us 
one  with  Adam,  what  but  our  birth  by  Baptism  makes 
us  one  with  Christ  ?  This  does  not  interfere,  observe, 
with  the  necessity  of  conversion  for  those  who  after 
Baptism  have  wandered  from  God,  it  does  not  imply 
that  the  heart  must  not  be  changed,  or  that  Christ 
must  not  grow  up  in  men  by  the  gradual  work  of  the 
regenerating  spirit.  But  all  these  dejiend  on  our  union 
with  Christ :  it  lies  at  the  bottom  of  them :  they  could 
not  begin  if  we  were  not  one  with  Him :  by  birth 


EASTER. 


159 


natural  we  have  naught  but  the  old  nature,  which  is 
corrupt  as  well  as  guilty :  what  ground  were  there  to 
commence  the  work  of  gTace,  unless  as  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  all  were  made  alive  ? 

But  the  present  occasion  leads  us  to  think  of  another 
Sacrament :  of  those  continual  means  whereby  union 
with  Christ  is  in  grown  years  to  be  maintained  and 
strengthened.  This  blessed  ordinance  is  described  by 
our  Lord  Himself,  in  words  than  which  none  can  more 
clearly  set  forth  that  close  union,  by  which  we  are 
united  to  Him.  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you," 
"  For  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink 
indeed."  Here  again  is  a  great  mystery,  akin  to  that 
before  described,  whereby  we  were  first  made  members 
of  His  Body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones.  I  refer 
not  to  an}^  carnal  presence  of  Our  Lord ;  to  any  mate- 
rial alteration  of  those  outward  elements  which  are 
appointed  as  the  means  of  union  with  Him.  Bread, 
and  the  cup  of  blessing  St.  Paul  calls  them,  and  bread 
and  wine  they  doubtless  are.  Yet  does  Our  Lord's 
humanity  make  them  its  medium  of  intercourse  with 
the  faithful  and  devout  communicant,  so  that  the 
worthy  worshipper,  ivv\j  and  not  in  figure,  receives 
his  Maker.  What  says  the  Catechism  ?  The  inward 
part  or  thing  signified  in  this  holy  feast  is  "  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  which  are  verily  and  indeed  taken 
and  received  by  the  faithful  in  the  Lord's  Supper."  So 
that  we  must  conclude  that  this  union  with  Christ  is 
real,  and  not  a  figure ;  that  though  mysterious,  it  is  3'et 
certain:  though  its  manner  unknown,  yet  its  truth 
questionless.    Do  men  ask  its  degree,  or  method,  we 


160 


EASTER. 


cannot  answer :  enough  that  as  Ave  are  one  with  Adam, 
we  must  be  one  with  Christ. 

Remember,  lastly,  that  awful  and  mysterious  as  is 
this  gift,  it  is  not  more  awful  than  necessary.  An 
awful  thing  it  is,  doubtless,  to  be  one  with  Christ ;  to 
bear  about  us  His  hallowed  nature ;  to  have  so  pre- 
cious a  gift  for  which  to  account.  How  pure  should 
be  our  hearts,  how  lively  our  faith,  how  warm  our 
devotion,  since  it  is  to  the  God-man,  Christ  Our  Lord, 
that  we  are  thus  united  ?  To  receive  Him,  to  have 
Him  as  our  visitant — how  unspeakable,  yet  how  awful  a 
blessing.  "  Lord,  I  am.  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldst 
come  under  my  roof"  How  well  becomes  it  that  we 
should  strive  after  a  perfect  conformity  of  mind  and 
temper  with  Him  our  Head.  And  yet  it  is  not  less 
necessary  than  it  is  overwhelming.  For  unless  we  are 
found  in  Christ,  what  have  we  in  this  world  or  the 
next  upon  which  to  depend  ?  What  present  comfort 
have  we,  what  future  hope,  what  expectation  of  a 
glorious  resurrection,  what  guard  against  life's  tempta- 
tions, what  stay  in  the  hour  of  death  ?  Hoav  could  we 
lay  our  friends  in  the  earth,  as  at  any  moment  we  may 
be  called  to  do,  did  we  not  hope  that  as  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive  ?  How 
could  we  ourselves  lie  down  tranquilly  in  the  dust,  did 
we  not  believe  that  through  Christ  our  Head  there  was 
an  Easter  Day  for  every  one  of  us  ?  In  this  feeling, 
then,  let  the  devout  and  penitent  draw  near  to  the 
Lord's  table,  and  earnestly  believe  in  Him  who  gives 
Himself  as  the  food  of  souls. 


SEEMOX  XY. 


CHRIST'S  RESUERECTIOX  MAN'S  RECONCILIATION. 


Romans  iv.  25. 

[Preached  on  Easter  Day.] 

"  WJio  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  raised  again  for  our  Justift- 

cation." 

In  these  words  is  the  event  of  to-day  set  forth  as  a 
cause  of  man's  justification.  Not  only  is  Our  Lord's 
death  declared  to  have  been  a  cause  of  man's  forgive- 
nesSj  but  his  acceptance  with  God  is  built  also  upon  the 
fact  of  the  resurrection.  Christ  "  was  delivered  for  our 
offences,  and  raised  again  for  our  justification."  To  ex- 
plain this  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider,  first,  what  is 
here  meant  by  man's  justification  ;  and  secondh^,  what 
was  done  towards  that  work  by  the  Resurrection  of  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

I.  Xow  what  is  here  meant  by  man's  justification  ? 
It  plainly  means  that  general  change,  whereby  those 
who  are  under  God's  wrath  are  admitted  to  His  favour. 
The  original  state  of  man  was  one,  in  which  such  a 
change  was  not  required.    For  by  creation  man  was  at 


162 


EASTER. 


one  with  Him  who  made  him.  God  saw  every  thing 
which  He  had  made^  and  behold  it  was  very  good. 
But  when  man's  sin  had  separated  him  from  God,  he 
needed  to  be  reconciled  to  his  offended  Maker.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  some  mode  of  Atonement,  or  atone- 
ment, as  it  is  commonly  called,  whereby  God  and  man 
might  be  reunited.  God  was  alienated  from  man,  be- 
cause He  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity ;  man 
was  alienated  from  God,  because  he  had  lost  that  de- 
light in  God's  laws,  that  relish  for  His  service,  that 
sense  of  His  favour,  which  made  up  the  image  of  the 
Creator,  as  it  was  originally  reflected  in  man's  heart. 
For  thus  it  was  that  God  had  made  man  at  first;  like 
a  clear  mirror  which  gave  back  his  maker's  glory,  and 
so  set  forth  the  brightness  which  it  was  formed  to  re- 
flect. That  which  is  needed,  then,  for  the  acceptance 
or  salvation  of  mankind,  is  some  method,  whereby  God 
may  again  be  reconciled  to  man,  and  man  to  God. 
Such  a  method  has  God  mercifully  provided  in  that 
Son  of  His  love,  "  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the 
atonement."  And  His  work  of  mercy  in  time  past  is 
not  more  essential  to  man's  acceptance,  than  His  work 
of  mercy  in  time  to  come :  "  if,  when  we  were  enemies, 
we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son, 
much  more  being  reconciled  we  shall  be  saved  by  His 
life." 

The  nature  of  this  process  may  be  seen  in  the  well- 
known  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  The  Prodigal's 
situation  sets  forth  not  unfitly  the  condition  of  man- 
kind. When  the  Prodigal  wakes  up  to  a  consciousness 
of  his  state,  when  he  sees  the  vile  condition  to  which 
he  has  reduced  himself — that  he  is  herding  with  un- 


EASTER. 


163 


clean  animals  instead  of  enjoying  the  purity  of  liis 
father's  courts ;  that  his  food  is  the  foul  refuse  allotted 
to  beasts^  in  place  of  that  to  which  he  was  heir  by 
birth — what  is  all  this  but  a  description  of  man's  feel- 
ings when  he  first  discerns  the  misery  of  sin,  and  the 
unspeakable  evil  of  losing  his  heavenly  birthright? 
And  what  can  he  bring  to  his  Father  except  the  hu- 
mihty  of  a  contrite  spirit,  which  is  conscious  of  its  own 
absolute  helplessness  and  incurable  abasement?  This 
feeling,  then,  and  his  subsequent  acceptance,  is  all  which 
the  Parable  sets  forth.  But  suppose  that  besides  this 
it  had  gone  on  to  tell  us  that  the  Prodigal  Son  had  in- 
curred great  debts :  suppose  that  besides  wasting  his 
substance  he  had  incurred  heavy  obligations  :  by  whom 
could  these  debts  be  discharged ;  how  could  he  get  rid 
of  what  he  owed,  and  thus  be  put  into  a  condition  for 
going  freely  to  his  Father  ?  Now  this  is.  truly  man's 
estate  as  regards  God.  He  has  a  heavy  debt  of  sin :  he 
is  burthened  already  by  past  transgressions,  and  for 
these  it  is  that  the  Son  of  God's  love  made  atonement 
on  the  bloody  cross.  God  "  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us, 
who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  Him."  "  Whom  God  hath  set  forth 
....  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through 
the  forbearance  of  God." 

This  is  the  first  part  of  Christ's  work,  whereby  God 
is  reconciled  to  man.  Thus  is  that  load  of  guilt  done 
away,  which  forbade  our  acceptance.  Its  removal  is 
the  first  step  to  at-onement,  since  but  for  this  saving 
sacrifice  the  whole  generation  of  men  had  been  for  ever 
sunk  into  the  pit  of  destruction.  But  when  this  price 
is  paid,  there  is  still  something  needed  for  man's  accept- 


164 


EASTER. 


ance.  God  may  be  reconciled  to  man,  but  how  is  man 
reconciled  to  God  ?  The  Prodigal's  debts  may  be  dis- 
charged ]  but  what  is  there  to  bring  him  to  his  Father's 
feet  in  the  humility  of  a  profound  repentance  ?  Here 
is  a  work^  which  is  as  needful  as  aught  else  to  man's 
acceptance ;  yet  which  none  but  the  great  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man  is  able  to  effect. 

For  the  very  curse  of  man  in  his  present  state  is  that 
his  heart  is  alienated  from  God.  Suppose  I  address 
myself  to  some  of  those  many  persons  in  this  land,  who 
neglect  Church,  despise  God's  Sacraments,  forget  His 
laws.  I  reason  with  them  on  their  sin  and  folly ;  but 
their  common  answer  in  reality  is,  that  they  have  no 
taste  for  such  matters ;  they  like  better  the  employ- 
ments and  objects  of  the  world ;  God  and  His  kingdom, 
and  His  service,  and  Christ's  acts  of  love,  and  the  sane 
tifying  influence  of  His  renewing  spirit,  are  a  dull,  un- 
attractive thing,  which  find  no  answer  in  their  hearts. 
What  they  need,  then,  is  some  power,  which  may 
quicken  their  inner  man  to  more  healthy  action.  With- 
out this,  they  cannot  be  truly  at  one  with  God.  There 
can  be  no  real  acceptance,  because,  though  God  is  will- 
ing to  be  reconciled  to  them,  by  reason  of  that  infinite 
ransom  which  has  been  provided  for  the  redemption  of 
all  men  through  the  Son  of  His  love,  yet  are  they  on 
their  part,  unwilling  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  The 
ambassadors  of  Christ  have  still  need,  therefore,  to 
come,  praying  men  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God.  And  here  it  is,  then,  that  the  text  takes  us 
up,  and  shows  how  the  salvation  of  mankind  is  brought 
about  through  the  resurrection  of  the  Son  of  God.  To 
complete  our  acceptance — that  men  may  be  fully  re- 


EASTER. 


165 


conciled  to  tlieir  heavenly  Father — that  the  work 
wrought  upon  the  Cross  in  expiation,  may  be  followed 
up  by  the  work  of  renewal  wrought  in  every  living 
member  of  the  Son  of  God,  did  our  Lord  not  only  die 
for  our  sins,  but  rose  again  for  our  justification. 

II.  Now  what  has  this  to  do  with  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion? This  was  the  second  thing  to  be  spoken  of 
You  have  seen  that  our  acceptance  depends  on  the 
reconciliation  of  God  to  men ;  and  that  this  was  effected 
through  the  sacrifice  on  the  Cross.  But  it  depends  also 
on  our  reconciliation  to  God.  How  is  this  owing  to 
Our  Lord's  resurrection?  For  the  reason  which  has 
already  been  mentioned ;  because  the  difficulty  Avhich 
is  here  to  be  overcome,  is  a  difficulty  which  lies  in  man 
himself,  and  must  be  cured,  not  by  an  outward  act, 
which  is  wrought  for  you,  but  by  an  inward  act,  which 
must  be  wrought  within  you.  Suppose  a  careless  man 
to  be  asked  why  he  is  not  reconciled  to  God.  The 
answer  cannot  be  that  God  is  wanting  in  goodness ; 
there  is  no  deficiency  in  that  infinite  and  unmeasurable 
love  which  gave  Christ  Our  Lord  to  the  Cross  for  our 
redemption,  but  man's  evil  heart  refuses  to  jdeld  to 
such  influences — "they  will  not  come  unto  Me,  that 
they  may  have  life."  Men  know  that  it  is  their  inter- 
est to  be  saved — they  cannot  disguise  from  themselves 
that  no  happiness  is  to  be  found  except  in  God's  ser- 
vice— they  know  that  at  the  last  day  they  shall  have 
to  render  account  of  all  their  actions — but  though  they 
know  all  this,  they  cannot  feel  it,  they  have  little  love 
to  God — they  take  little  pleasure  in  His  sersdce — they 
can  no  more  give  Him  their  hearts  than  they  could 


166 


EASTER. 


relish  some  food  which  their  taste  refused,  or  some  per- 
son to  whom  they  had  a  natural  antipathy. 

Alas !  how  often  do  we  see  this  in  the  world.  We 
may  speak  to  men  ever  so  kindly ;  we  may  show  them 
that  what  we  are  anxious  for  is  their  own  life.  We 
may  explain  to  them  that  the  thing  proposed  is  the 
true  dignity  and  happiness  of  man's  nature ;  and  yet 
they  turn  away  as  though  they  were  asked  for  some 
unreasonable  favour,  and  despise  Him  in  whom  their 
life  is,  and  whose  are  all  their  ways.  You  might  as 
well  speak  to  ^4he  deaf  adder,  which  stoppeth  his  ears, 
which  refuseth  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm 
he  never  so  wisely."  Now  whence  this  folly  ?  Are  the 
men  we  speak  of  without  natural  understanding  ?  Have 
they  not  senses,  reason,  memory,  forethought  ?  Yes,  in 
this  world's  affairs  they  show  no  failing.  But  they  want 
a  spiritual  taste,  a  sense  and  feeling  for  things  divine ; 
the  flesh  rules  in  them,  the  spirit  is  dead  in  their 
bosoms ;  they  want  faith,  and  love,  and  godly  fear. 

And  how  are  these  things  to  be  produced  ?  Where 
are  such  excellences  to  be  found  ?  There  is  no  market 
where  you  can  buy  them.  They  do  not  grow  among 
the  spices  of  the  east ;  out  of  the  mines  of  the  west  you 
cannot  dig  them.  When  Adam  fell,  they  were  for- 
feited once  and  for  ever  by  man's  nature.  They  re- 
treated to  their  parent  seat  in  the  bosom  of  God.  And 
thence  only  can  they  be  obtained.  These  precious 
gifts  came  back  in  their  completeness  to  that  single 
child  of  Adam,  whose  birth  was  the  signal  of  peace  on 
earth,  and  goodwill  to  men.  His  cradle  was  adorned 
by  those  precious  gifts  which  the  wise  men  of  the  East 
presented ;  but  more  precious  by  far  were  those  divine 


EASTER. 


167 


graces  of  which  He  was  Himself  the  possessor.  For 
from  that  divine  nature  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  He 
could  not  abandon,  there  flowed  into  His  man's  nature 
such  abundant  treasures  of  purity  and  goodness,  as  ren- 
dered it  th6  true  life  of  the  world.  As  God  created 
the  sun  to  rule  in  the  sky,  and  made  it  the  source  of 
light  to  all  men,  so  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was  made  the 
centre  and  source  of  all  life  to  all  generations  of  man- 
kind. 

Now  the  first  effect  of  this  was  that  holy  walk  and 
conduct,  that  di^dne  teaching,  that  spotless  example, 
which  He  displayed  during  His  earthly  pilgrimage. 
In  Him  alone  of  the  children  of  Adam  was  the  Father 
well  pleased.  Then  came  that  death  upon  the  cross, 
whereby  He  made  atonement  for  all  transgressions. 
But  when  this  task  was  completed,  was  His  work  per- 
formed? Had  He  no  more  to  do  in  the  process  of 
man's  salvation*?  He  had ;  for  He  still  continued  to 
be  that  source  from  which  all  gTace  must  flow  into  the 
inner  nature  of  His  brethren.  He  had  accomplished 
His  service  on  the  cross.  He  had  finished  the  work 
which  was  given  him  to  do.  But  might  he  cast  off  the 
raiment  of  His  humanity,  as  if  its  purposes  were  alto- 
gether fulfilled?  Then  how  could  we  have  gained 
that  inward  grace,  of  which  His  mediation  was  the 
only  channel  ?  Since  the  very  thing  we  need  is  that 
renewing  influence  by  which  our  will  is  to  be  brought 
into  union  with  the  will  of  God,  the  continual  presence 
of  such  a  Divine  helper  is  as  necessary  to  us  as  that 
one  sacrifice  which  He  offered  for  us  on  the  bloody  tree. 

Nothing  shall  now  be  said  about  Our  Lord's  continual 
intercession  for  us  m  heaven,  though  for  this,  too,  His 


168 


EASTER. 


resurrection  was  needed ;  wliat  is  before  us  is  this,  that 
our  salvation  dejDends  as  plainl}'  on  that  influence  upon 
our  inner  man,  which  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead 
to  exercise,  as  it  does  on  that  satisfaction  for  our  sins 
which  He  died  to  offer.  "Without  the  Last  our  debt  to 
God  could  not  be  discharged :  without  the  first  we 
could  have  no  heart  to  profit  by  God's  mercy.  We 
need  Christ  within  us,  reconciling  us  to  God,  as  much 
as  Christ  without  us,  by  whom  God  is  reconciled  to  us. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  truth  of  His  mediation.  His  man's 
nature  is  the  seed  of  grace  to  ours.  Through  it  does  the 
Hoi}'  Ghost,  which  dwelt  in  fulness  in  His  sanctified 
manhood,  extend  its  influence  to  our  sinful  being. 
Christ,  as  man,  is  the  head  of  all  the  Christian  Body : 
of  that  Body  all  devout  Christians  are  members.  Now, 
it  is  from  the  Head  that  all  the  body,  b}^  joints  and 
bands,  has  nourishment  ministered. 

This  is  why  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Gosj^el  are  im- 
portant :  this  is  the  especial  reason  why  we  invite  you 
to  Holy  Sacraments.  Their  efficac}^  depends,  not  only 
on  what  you  do  in  them,  but  much  more  on  what  is 
done  by  Christ ;  without  sincerity  on  3^our  part  they  are 
no  doubt  unprofitable,  but  their  power  comes  from  the 
presence  of  Christ  Our  Lord.  Christian  men  are  in  a 
different  case  from  those  who  lived  before  Christ, 
because  they  are  not  to  ask  for  spiritual  blessings 
directly  from  God  the  Father  ;  they  are  to  ask  for  every 
thing  through  Christ,  who  is  man  as  well  as  God.  This 
is  our  signal  privilege  :  this  is  why  we  have  access  with 
confidence  through  the  faith  of  Him.  A  new  and 
living  way  has  been  opened  to  us  through  the  Godman, 
Christ  Jesus. 


EASTER. 


169 


Now,  to  the  opening  of  this  way  Our  Lord's  resurrec- 
tion was  plainly  necessary.  For  this  access  depends  on 
the  truth  of  Our  Lord's  manhood.  We  have  such  con- 
fidence in  approaching  God,  as  follows  from  knowing 
that  our  nature  has  place  in  heaven.  A  real  work  con- 
tinues to  be  truly  done  on  our  behalf  in  the  heavenly 
sanctuary.  And  through  Our  Lord's  manhood  does 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  visit  every  member  of  the  Church 
of  God.  What  a  mysterious  visitant  is  this,  what  an 
awful  presence  :  how  greatly  does  it  increase  the  guilt 
of  those  who  despise  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel.  But 
to  those  who  desire  to  be  saved,  who  cherish  the  re- 
newing influence  of  His  heavenly  presence,  what  greater 
joy  than  this,  what  truer  comfort  ?  To  be  assured  that 
through  Christ's  real  influence  on  all  His  members  that 
heavenly  gift  is  truly  bestowed  upon  us,  whereby  we 
may  be  made  one  with  God. 

Our  o^vn  feelings  are  at  best  but  an  uncertain  stay. 
They  may  suffice  in  the  days  of  health  and  vigour ; 
while  the  sunshine  of  Hfe  cheers  our  path.  But  when 
the  night  comes  on,  when  our  pulse  beats  slowly  and 
our  spirits  fail,  Ave  need  something  more  enduring.  And 
then  comes  in  the  assurance  which  is  built  upon  Christ's 
real  presence  with  all  the  true  members  of  His  spiritual 
body  :  "  Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  ;  if  any 
man  hear  My  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in 
to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  Me."  To 
how  many  has  Our  Lord's  merciful  presence  brought 
this  true  comfort?  How  many  fainting  hearts  have 
been  revived  by  this  His  real  influence  in  the  ordinances 
of  His  love.  Thus  has  "His  glorious  resurrection" 
ministered  as  surely  as  His  bloody  death  to  the  accept- 


170 


EASTER. 


ance  of  mankind.  Without  it,  the  price  might  indeed 
have  been  paid  for  our  pardon,  but  how  could  we  have 
been  living  members  of  His  Body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of 
His  bones  ?  Whence  could  the  whole  body  by  joints 
and  bands  have  nourishment  ministered  ? 

Therefore  did  the  Lord  of  Glory  reunite  in  His  mercy 
that  human  soul,  and  that  wounded  body,  whereby  He 
had  suffered  in  the  garden  and  on  the  cross.  From 
neither  had  His  Godhead  ever  been  separate ;  not  when 
His  soul  visited  the  dwelling  of  the  spirits  departed, 
nor  when  pious  hands  laid  His  body  in  the  earth.  But 
on  this  day  He  reunited  to  one  another  these  instru- 
ments of  His  passion  and  His  death.  But  those  things 
which  He  had  borne  in  humiliation  and  agony,  were 
raised  to-day  in  glory  and  power.  For  now  He  took 
to  Him  His  great  power  and  reigned:  He  returned 
again  to  His  ancient  habitation  :  His  lower  nature  was 
now  exalted ;  the  manhood  received  those  accessions, 
which  belonged  to  that,  which  had  been  taken  into 
God.  He  had  been  delivered  for  our  offences ;  to-day 
He  was  raised  again  for  our  justification. 


SERMON  XVL 


GOD  THE  SOURCE  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 


[Ascension-Day.] 
St.  John,  xvi.  25. 

TJiese  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs  ;  but  the  time  Cometh^ 
when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs^  but  I  shall  show  you 
plainly  of  the  Father." 

The  present  season  prescribes  the  subjects,  which 
should  exercise  our  thoughts.  Those  forty  days  are 
ended,  in  which  the  mysterious  secrets  of  His  coming 
kingdom  were  imparted  to  Our  Lord's  Apostles.  This 
day  did  He  ascend  above  all  heavens,  that  He  might 
bestow  upon  others  that  gift  of  grace,  the  first  fruit 
whereof  humanity  had  already  received  in  His  Incar- 
nation. By  this  means  was  the  understanding  of  man 
enlightened,  and  his  will  reformed.  For  these  two 
make  up  the  constitution  of  human  beings,  and  though 
in  the  end  probably  united,  yet  to  our  imperfect  capacity 
they  present  the  two  main  divisions,  under  which  we 
may  consider  the  operations  of  the  Most  High.  And 
of  these  two,  the  text  leads  us  to  consider  more  parti- 
cularly the  work  of  God  in  enlightening  the  understand- 


172 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


ing.  How  was  this  part  of  our  nature  ajffected  by  the 
glorification  of  Christ  ?  How  came  His  resurrection 
and  ascent  into  heaven  to  give  man  such  enlarged 
knowledge,  that  the  doubtful  teaching  of  parables 
should  yield  to  the  clear  vision  of  God  ?  How  was  it 
connected  with  that  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  was 
declared  of  ancient  days  to  be  the  spirit  of  hncnjoledge^ 
and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ? 

With  a  view  of  answering  these  questions,  let  us 
consider,  first,  what  is  the  source  of  knowledge,  and, 
secondly,  what  the  medium  through  which  we  receive 
it.  Now  the  source  of  all  knowledge  is  plainly  God. 
Its  secret  fount  is  the  fathomless  abyss  of  His  unsearch- 
able being.  Such  is  the  direct  assurance  of  Scripture  : 
such  is  the  conclusion  to  which  men  are  led  by  the  in- 
timations of  nature.  For  every  man  possesses  a  certain 
gift  of  understanding.  It  shows  itself  in  the  sports  of 
children,  as  well  as  in  their  studies.  Grown  men  it 
guides  in  the  pursuits  of  business ;  it  makes  them 
judges  of  truth  and  error.  "  Blessed  are  the  peace- 
makers," or,  "honesty  is  the  best  policy" — these  are 
common  sayings  to  which  every  heart  assents,  and 
which  each  man  can  confirm  from  the  scanty  stock  of 
his  own  experience. 

But  wherein  lies  that  common  store  of  understanding, 
which  displays  itself  in  these  consentient  judgments  of 
mankind  ?  For  we  do  not  make  this  wisdom,  but  find 
it.  We  come  to  it,  as  to  a  light  which  enlightens  every 
man's  nature,  and  which  none,  whom  God  has  endued 
with  the  common  prerogatives  of  humanity,  can  reject. 
It  is  a  part  of  a  world  of  realities,  into  which  each 
generation  gradually  finds  its  way :  so  soon  as  such 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


173 


things  are  stated,  men  cannot  choose  but  acquiesce  in 
them :  they  remain  as  a  beacon  to  other  minds,  by 
which  they  will  be  accepted  as  freely  as  by  our  own ; 
we  drink  of  the  great  ocean  of  truth,  as  every  following 
race  of  men  must  drink  of  it. 

Our  wisdom,  then,  is  no  individual  possession,  but  a 
specimen  of  the  general  properties  of  our  nature.  But 
in  what  example  of  our  race  shall  we  find  this  common 
gift  in  its  perfection  ?  We  read,  that  "  Solomon  w^as 
wiser  than  all  men,  than  Ethan  the  Ezrahite,  and 
Heman,  and  Chalcol,  and  Darda,  the  sons  of  Mahol." 
How  came  he  to  possess  wisdom  in  such  completeness  ? 
Why  did  the  intellectual  gifts  of  the  race  centre  in  him? 
For  the  cause  of  this  we  must  ascend  from  him  to  his 
Maker.  We  must  refer  back  to  the  giver  of  those 
common  endowments,  which  have  been  bestowed  on 
humanity  at  large.  God  gave  Solomon  wisdom  and 
understanding  exceeding  much,  and  largeness  of  heart, 
even  as  the  sand  which  is  on  the  sea^-shore."  "  For 
there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  giveth  him  understanding."  "  Who  hath 
put  wisdom  in  the  inward  parts,  or  who  hath  given  un- 
derstanding to  the  heart  ?"  "  It  is  God  our  Maker,  who 
teacheth  us  more  than  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and 
maketh  us  wiser  than  the  fowls  of  heaven."  "  For  to 
a  man  that  is  good  in  His  sight,  God  giveth  wisdom, 
and  knowledge,  and  joy."  All  these  things  come  from 
the  "  Father  of  lights,"  and  Himself  is  the  fountain 
whence  they  spring.  For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain 
of  life,  and  in  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light." 

And  this  wisdom  which  He  has  been  pleased  to  im- 
part, is  bound  by  nature,  as  itself  afiirms,  to  His  adora- 


174 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


ble  being.  For  "  the  Lord  possessed  Me  in  the  begin- 
ning of  His  ways^  before  His  works  of  old."  "  Then 
was  I  by  Him^  as  one  brought  up  with  Him,  and  I  was 
daily  His  delight,  rejoicing  always  before  Him."  It  is 
this  parent  knowledge  which,  going  forth  from  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  enlightens  the  short-lived  children  of 
time,  and  kindles  the  spark  of  wisdom  in  their  several 
bosoms.  "  In  Him  was  Life,  and  the  Life  was  the 
Light  of  Men." 

II.  Let  us  come,  then,  to  the  second  question,  What 
is  the  medium  through  which  this  gift  is  partaken? 
Two  ways  there  are,  whereby  we  receive  it.  For  two 
systems  have  severally  been  introduced  by  the  old  and 
new  creation  :  the  first  dependent  on  the  law  of  nature, 
the  second  on  the  law  of  grace.  The  first  looks  to 
that  inward  intercourse  with  the  Creative  Spirit  of  the 
Universe,  which  is  maintained  by  every  derived  spirit, 
when  it  casts  itself  upon  the  principle  of  its  higher 
nature,  and  communes  in  secret  with  the  Parent  of  its 
thoughts.  The  second  rests  on  that  new  mean  of  union, 
whereby  heaven  and  earth  have  been  joined  together 
— the  mediation  of  Christ.  These  two  are  the  channels 
of  intercourse  between  man  and  God — the  inward 
searchings  of  the  human  spirit,  or  the  supernatual 
apprehensiveness  of  faith — the  imitation  of  the  first 
man,  or  sacramental  union  with  the  Second — the  fol- 
lowing of  Adam,  or  membership  in  Christ. 

For  the  religion  of  nature  is  in  itself  no  denial  of 
God :  rather  it  is  God's  voice  witnessing  to  the  higher 
origin  of  the  beings  whom  Ho  has  created.  It  shows 
"  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  men's  hearts,  their  con- 
science also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the 


ASCEXSION-DAT. 


175 


mean  vrhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another."  It 
formed  a  large  part  of  human  knowledge  even  while  the 
original  revelation  was  still  fresh,  and  among  those  who 
were  favoured  by  anticipations  of  the  coming  Kedeemer. 
For  even  the  Jew,  though  it  was  the  ordained  privilege 
of  his  nation  that  through  its  pubhc  ritual  the  ladder 
was  let  down  beforehand,  whereby  the  Son  of  Man  has 
since  bridged  over  the  gulf  between  earth  and  heaven ; 
— even  he  was  taught  by  his  weekly  Sabbath  to  look 
chiefly  to  that  first  creation,  wherein  Jehovah  revealed 
Himself  as  "  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh."  Thou,  Lord, 
in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth ; 
and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands.  They 
shall  perish,  but  Thou  shalt  endure  :  they  all  shall  wax 
old  as  doth  a  garment  ....  but  Thou  art  the  same,  and 
Thy  years  shall  not  fail.  The  children  of  Thy  ser^'ants 
shall  continue,  and  their  seed  shall  stand  fast  in  Thy 
sight." 

And  if  this  was  the  feeling  of  the  Israelite,  how  much 
more  of  those  heathen  nations,  whose  best  prayer  to  the 
mercy  of  their  unknown  Creator  was,  "  despise  not  the 
works  of  Thine  own  hands."  Yet  was  this  the  portion 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  world's  inhabitants,  till  four 
thousand  years  had  told  their  course.  Their  sole  inter- 
course with  God  was  through  that  law  of  creation, 
whereby  all  spirits  are  bound  to  the  Parent  Spirit,  in 
whom  "  we  Hve,  and  move,  and  have  our  being."  Thus 
only  could  they  "  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might 
feel  after  Him  and  find  Him,  though  He  be  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us."  And  how  faltering  were  the  footsteps 
with  which  men  sought  the  source  of  all  good.  They 
became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish 


176 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


heart  was  darkened."  "  The  light  shined  in  darkness, 
and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not." 

Such  was  man  s  condition  till  the  fullness  of  time 
brought  in  those  events  of  which  this  holy  season  re- 
minds us.  For  then  did  the  mediation  of  the  God-man 
provide  a  new  mean  of  intercourse  between  earth  and 
heaven;  the  mighty  void  was  bridged  over,  and  the 
law  of  grace  came  in  to  help  the  law  of  nature.  And 
how  was  this  eflfected  ?  What  was  that  reversal  of  man's 
separation  from  God,  which  for  more  than  eighteen 
centuries  has  been  yearly  commemorated?  Because 
man  could  not  attain  to  his  Creator,  the  Creator  merci- 
fully condescended  to  man's  nature.  In  the  Person  of 
the  Eternal  Son,  the  co-equal  participator  of  Godhead, 
did  God  mercifully  take  our  nature,  and  thus  consecrate 
it  a  temple  for  Himself 

Thus  did  spiritual  power  enter  into  manhood,  and 
enrich  it  with  divine  endowments  of  holiness  and  knowl- 
edge. As  the  Old  Testament  had  declared  man's  duty 
to  his  Creator,  so  did  the  New  reveal  that  new  law  of 
grace,  whereby  only  he  could  perform  it.  "  For  the 
law  was  given  by  Moses ;  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus 
Christ."  In  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  are  those  wonder- 
ful steps  set  forth,  whereby  this  new  means  of  inter- 
course is  provided.  When  grace  is  spoken  of  in  the 
Gospels,  it  refers  in  every  instance  to  that  New  Head 
of  man's  race,  in  whom  the  blessings  of  the  new  cove- 
nant were  first  centred,  that  afterwards  they  might  be 
distributed  from  Him  to  His  brethren.  The  Gospels 
contain  no  statement  that  any  specific  gift  of  grace  was 
bestowed  by  God  upon  mankind  at  large,  beyond  those 
dealings  of  divine  love,  which  were  either  due  to  the 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


177 


general  mercy  of  the  Creator,  or  were  an  anticipation 
of  the  great  event  of  this  season ;  because  till  that  work 
was  completed,  w^hich  the  Gospels  record,  the  great  gift 
of  grace  could  not  be  erjojed.  "  The  Holy  Ghost  was 
not  yet  given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." 
The  only  four  occasions,  therefore,  in  which  grace  is 
spoken  of  by  the  Evangelists,  refer  to  those  personal 
endo^^Tiients,  with  which  the  New  Head  of  man's  race 
was  enriched  during  the  period  of  His  earthly  pilgrimage. 
These  gifts  He  doubtless  received  in  their  fullness,  by 
that  wondrous  act  whereb}^  the  manhood  was  taken  into 
God.  But  the  whole  course  of  His  earthly  being  was  a 
perpetual  exaltation  of  His  human  through  its  oneness 
with  His  divine  nature.  "  The  child  grew  and  waxed 
strong  in  spirit,  filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of 
God  was  upon  Him." 

Now  this  it  is  which  the  Gospels  set  forth.  They 
describe  the  consecration  of  that  hallowed  spring  of 
purity  and  wisdom,  which  was  speedily  to  flow  forth  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations.  They  trace  to  their  head 
those  divine  waters  of  the  river  of  life,  which  issued  out 
from  the  Sanctuary.  And  what  is  the  peculiar  lesson 
of  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  ?  The  spreading  forth  of 
that  gift  of  grace,  whereby  Sacraments  derive  their 
efficacy — by  which  the  Universal  Church  everywhere 
and  in  every  age  is  replenished.  "  These  waters  go  down 
into  the  desert,  and  go  into  the  sea  :  which  being  brought 
forth  into  the  sea,  the  waters  shall  be  healed."  For 
when  Christ  Our  Lord  "  ascended  up  on  high.  He  led 
captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men."  That  same 
gift  of  grace  which  He  had  received  because  He  was 
human.  He  now  bestowed  because  He  was  divine- 


178 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


Therefore  was  peace  extended  like  a  river,  and  tlie 
glory  of  the  Gentiles  like  a  flowing  stream.  When  Our 
crucified  Lord  had  entered  into  His  glory,  when  He  had 
come  again  by  that  higher  medium  of  an  unseen  pre- 
sence, which  He  maintains  through  the  communion  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  He  bestowed  that  gift  upon  His  bre- 
thren by  the  birth  of  the  Spirit,  which  by  personal  one- 
ness with  Godhead  had  been  the  natural  portion  of  His 
own  sinless  flesh.  For  "  of  His  fullness  have  all  we  re- 
ceived, and  grace  for  grace."  Thus  was  the  grace  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  the  fellowship  of  the  Spirit, 
bestowed  on  the  collective  Church.  Is  the  God-man  by 
propriety  of  nature  truly  one  with  the  Father  ?  yet  are 
all  His  brethren  actually  one  with  Him  by  adoption  and 
grace.  No  sooner,  therefore,  was  the  Head  of  mankind 
"  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,"  and  had  "  received 
of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  than  we 
read  respecting  the  members  of  His  mystic  body,  that 
"  great  grace  was  upon  them  all." 

And  thus  is  it,  therefore,  that  divine  hnowledge  is 
communicated  through  the  Mediator  to  the  children  of 
men.  As  the  mysteries  of  His  Father's  kingdom  lay 
open  to  Him  by  natural  oneness,  so  does  He  impart 
them  by  supernatural  grace  to  His  servants.  For  "  no 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  the  only-begotten  Son, 
which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared 
Him."  That  which  belonged  to  Him  by  the  intuition 
of  nature  has  been  communicated  to  us  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  grace.  No  more,  therefore,  did  He  declare  to 
His  disciples  in  the  text,  "shall  I  speak  unto  you  in 
parables,  but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of  the  Father." 
Hitherto  His  instruction  had  been  veiled  in  earthly 


ASCENSION-DAT. 


179 


language  :  He  had  employed  the  proverbs  of  speech, 
and  the  parables  of  men.  For  what  is  all  earthly  lan- 
guage but  a  condescension  to  the  weakness  of  embodied 
spirits,  who  are  restricted  to  the  poverty  of  external 
symbols  of  intercourse,  and  cannot  come  into  contact 
with  the  naked  truth  of  realities  themselves  ?  "  For 
we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophecy  in  part,  but  when 
that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part 
shall  be  done  away."  "For  now  we  see  through  a 
glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face ;  now  I  know  in 
part,  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known." 

Yet  some  foretaste  and  prelibation  of  this  more  per- 
fect gift  of  an  heavenly  vision  was  promised  even  in 
this  lower  world,  to  those  whose  appointed  portion  was 
to  "have  the  mind  of  Christ."  For  how  could  the 
mysteries  of  God's  kingdom  be  altogether  unknown  to 
those,  whom  He  would  "  show  plainly  of  the  Father  ?" 
Such  thoughts  must  in  their  nature  transcend  anything 
which  sentences  could  express,  or  words  could  utter, 
"  but  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  His  Spirit, 
for  the  S23irit  searcheth  all  things,  even  the  deep  things 
of  God."  In  this  manner,  then,  is  that  intercourse  with 
God,  which  was  lost  by  Adam's  sin,  restored  by  Christ's 
obedience ;  and  the  law  of  grace  takes  place  of  the  law 
of  nature.  To  be  a  member  by  birth  of  the  family  of 
man,  to  possess  the  mysterious  gift  of  a  spiritual  being, 
is  to  have  the  wonderful  power  of  holding  intercourse 
by  thought  with  the  Father  of  all  being,  whose  pre- 
sence is  perpetually  with  His  whole  creation ;  but  to  be 
reborn  by  Baptism  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  be 
made  a  spiritual  member  of  our  Incarnate  Head — this 
is  to  have  "  a  new  and  living  way  consecrated  for  us 


180 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh/'  and  to  be 
admitted  by  Mediation  to  fellowship  in  that  "  grace  and 
truth/'  which  by  nature  had  their  dwelling  in  Him. 
.  Such  is  that  blessed  means  of  union  with  the  source  of 
all  wisdom,  which  was  opened  to  us  at  this  season  by 
the  exaltation  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

And  how,  then,  can  we  best  extend  that  gift  of  knowl- 
edge, which  is  plainly  the  most  valuable  possession  of 
mankind  ?  The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  whether 
religious  or  secular  knowledge  is  most  important ;  which 
is  most  truly  useful  to  the  children  of  men.  There  is 
a  means,  indeed,  of  rendering  even  secular  knowledge 
subservient  to  a  hallowed  end,  by  viewing  it  as  a  mani- 
festation of  God's  ways  in  the  government  of  His  crea- 
tures. But  look  at  it  in  itself,  detached  from  those 
higher  relations  by  which  it  may  be  ennobled,  and  can 
we  doubt  its  inferiority  to  those  exalted  thoughts, 
which  lead  us  upward  to  the  throne  of  God?  Would 
you  elevate  the  character  of  a  nation,  would  you  free  a 
whole  generation  from  the  sordid  and  debasing  chains 
of  appetite,  you  must  not  build  on  those  principles  of  a 
corrupted  humanity,  whereby  alone  nature  can  ascend 
to  God — a  better  road  is  opened,  a  nobler  message  is 
proclaimed;  "that  which  we  have  heard  and  seen 
declare  we  unto  you,  that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship 
with  us,  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  Avith  the  Father, 
and  with  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 

And  as  these  considerations  show  that  Christian 
training  is  what  alone  does  justice  to  the  capacities  of 
man,  so  does  it  suggest  the  nature  of  that  training, 
which  alone  can  properly  be  called  Christian.  For 
Christianity  is  the  doctrine  of  grace.    It  is  a  substitu- 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


181 


tion  of  the  system  of  Mediation  for  the  system  of 
nature.  It  is  built  upon  the  truth  that  all  heavenly 
gifts  were  first  received  by  the  manhood  of  the  Church's 
Incarnate  Head,  that  from  Him  they  might  flow  forth 
into  all  its  members.  Thus  are  divine  blessings 
received  by  His  servants  through  Sacramental  grace, 
because  they  pertained  to  Him  by  oneness  of  nature. 
And  hence  we  see  how  close  is  the  union  between  a 
Christian  education^  and  all  those  means  of  grace, 
whereby  we  maintain  our  union  with  the  Lord's  Mystic 
Body.  For  what  are  prayers  and  Sacraments  but  "  the 
joints  and  bands"  by  which  the  whole  body  of  the 
Church  "  has  nourishment  ministered." 

Is  it  alledged,  then,  that  the  Church's  sj'stem  of  edu- 
cation interferes  with  the  full  development  of  the  intel- 
lectual faculties  of  men,  that  daily  devotions,  and  a 
lengthened  service,  and  full  attention  to  the  doctrinal 
teaching  of  our  Holy  Mother,  abstract  too  much  of 
that  time  which  is  required  for  the  increasing  demands 
of  a  cultivated  age ;  we  answer  that  too  great  promi- 
nence cannot  be  given  to  the  highest  of  all  sources  of 
knowledge,  that  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy  is  under- 
standing." And  further,  to  seek  this  gift  in  devotion  as 
well  as  study,  in  holy  ordinances  as  well  as  private 
thought,  is  the  very  course  to  which  those  great  events 
conduct,  of  which  this  season  reminds  us.  For  this  is 
that  road  of  intercourse  with  God,  which  our  one  Me- 
diator has  provided.  What  can  be  more  necessary,  then, 
than  those  Gospel  ordinances,  whereby  we  drink  of  that 
well  of  grace,  which  has  been  opened  for  us  in  His  In- 
carnate Nature  ?    How  can  knowledge  flow  forth  to  us 


182 


ASCENSION-DAY. 


from  the  native  source  of  unapproachable  Godhead,  save 
through  union  with  Him,  in  whom  alone  the  streams 
descend  which  water  the  earth  ? 

Let  no  man,  therefore,  who  professes  to  value  the 
gifts  of  grace,  neglect  those  Sacraments  whereby  the 
members  of  Christ  are  engrafted  into  His  Body.  Let 
none  think  those  hours  wasted,  which  hear  the  hymn 
of  praise  or  prayer  for  pardon  resound  within  the  Church's 
consecrated  walls.  For  shall  we  go  back  from  Media- 
tion to  nature  :  having  begun  in  the  spirit,  shall  we  be 
made  perfect  by  the  flesh  ?  Were  we  devoted  in  bap- 
tism to  Christ,  that  to  the  old  Adam  and  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  carnal  being,  we  may  owe  the  attainments 
of  our  after-life  ?  Shall  we  be  always  satisfied  with  the 
doubtful  parables  of  this  imperfect  state,  and  not  hold 
onward  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ  ?  It  was  well  in  Heathen  times  to  grope  about 
by  the  uncertain  light  of  natural  reason,  while  as  yet 
the  Day-spring  had  not  risen  on  the  benighted  world. 
But  alas  for  those  who  would  still  trust  to  the  strivings 
of  their  individual  faith,  now  that  the  highway  of  grace 
has  been  opened  to  the  nations.  For  there  is  no  truth 
save  in  God,  nor  any  approach  to  God  except  in  Christ; 
nor  any  union  with  Christ,  except  through  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Gospel. 


SEEMOX  XVII. 


CHEIST  THE  CHANNEL  OF  GRACE. 


[Whitsunday.] 
St.  John  i.  16. 

^^Of  His  fullness  have  all  ice  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 

The  gift  of  God's  grace  is  ever  set  forth  as  the  gTeat 
blessing  of  the  Gospel.  By  natural  Providence  does  the 
Father  of  all  sustain  us  :  we  look  to  His  watchful  care 
for  our  protection;  for  the  advantages  of  food  and 
raiment  we  are  indebted  to  His  bounty.  But,  when 
leaving  the  necessities  of  our  bodies,  we  think  of  the 
necessities  of  our  souls ;  when  we  rise  above  the  order 
of  nature  to  that  world  of  unseen  reahties,  which  is  ever 
around  us ;  the  gTand  characteristic  of  our  being  is  the 
possession  of  grace.  Now  what  is  this  grace  which  God 
bestows,  and  what  is  the  channel  through  which  it  is 
dispensed  ?  These  are  the  two  questions,  which  shall 
be  proposed  to  you  to-da}^ 

In  its  literal  sense  grace  means  favour.  And  since 
favour  is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  result  of  desert,  therefore 
in  things  earthly  the  term  grace  is  rather  applied  to 
those  whose  character  conciUates  favour,  than  to  those 
who  entertain  it.  Hence  does  grace  of  body  imply  those 


184 


WHITSUNDAY. 


external  qualities  which  win  favour.  This  is  its  com- 
mon sense  in  the  languages  of  classical  antiquity.  In 
Holy  Scri]3ture  however  the  word  is  not  limited  to  the 
graces  of  the  body,  but  implies  all  those  qualities  which 
conciliate  esteem.  It  was  not  only  because  he  w^as  well 
favoured,  but  by  virtue  of  Joseph's  whole  character,  that 
'  he  found  grace  in  the  sight  of  his  master  the  Egyptian. 
The  favour  or  grace  of  man,  then,  depends  not  so  much 
on  the  party  wdiich  entertains,  as  on  the  party  which 
deserves  it :  its  source  lies  in  the  excellence  of  the 
graceful  object,  more  than  in  the  original  stock  of  kind- 
ness, of  which  the  beholder  may  be  possessed.  For 
though  man  be  a  free  agent,  so  that  he  can  choose 
which  impulses  it  is  his  will  to  follow,  yet  they  must 
be  impulses  which  make  part  of  his  nature,  and  his 
nature  is  to  favour  those  whose  character  calls  forth  his 
love.  For  man  has  no  power  of  creating  what  is  foreign 
to  himself:  he  cannot  go  out  of  himself  and  render  his 
neighbours  other  than  they  are  :  and  therefore  he  can- 
not feel  favour  except  towards  those  who  either  are,  or 
are  supposed  to  be,  fit  objects  of  his  preference. 

But  with  God  it  is  wholly  different.  The  favour  of 
God  has  not  its  source  in  the  excellence  of  the  finite 
beings  who  attract,  but  in  the  boundless  excellence  of 
j  the  Infinite  Being  who  possesses  it.  For  "  He  is  good 
V  and  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  to  the  evil."  There- 
fore only  is  divine  grace  exhaustless,  because  it  is  sove- 
reign as  the  Majesty,  and  boundless  as  the  Infinity  of 
God.  It  has  its  fountain  in  those  unsearchable  stores 
of  the  divine  love,  which  were  the  original  cause  of  all 
existence.  When  this  love  moved  forth  from  the  in- 
scrutable rei)Ose  of  its  eternal  existence,  its  will  was  to 


TTHITSUXDAY. 


185 


call  into  being  heaven  and  earth.  To  this  act  nothing 
outward  contributed  by  any  external  persuasion :  the 
Lord  hath  made  all  things  for  Himself:"  God's  Will, 
like  His  Word,  was  the  creative  cause  of  all  things. 
"  God  said,  Let  there  be  light :  and  there  was  light." 

And  so,  too,  when  the  object  was  to  renew  the  souls 
whom  He  had  made,  it  was  still  God's  love,  which  was 
the  onl}'  beginning  of  their  recovery.  For  •*  God  com- 
mended His  love  to  us,  in  that  when  we  were  yet  sin- 
ners Christ  died  for  us."  "  Of  His  own  will  begat  He 
us  by  the  Word  of  Life."  So  that  God's  grace  is  wholly 
other  than  the  grace  of  man  :  it  has  its  root  in  His  own 
nature,  it  is  a  producing  cause  of  goodness  in  those 
whom  His  mercy  favours.  Its  fountain  is  that  unfa- 
thomable ocean  of  love,  which  is  stored  up  in  His  Lifinite 
Being.  Thence  it  issues  to  bring  into  existence  the 
objects  which  it  desires.  ^*  In  all  ages  entering  into 
holy  souls,  it  maketh  them  to  be  sons  of  God  and  pro- 
phets." It  comes  forth  like  the  sun's  light  for  the 
renewal  of  the  world.  Thus  creative  is  that  love  of  God 
which  is  the  principle  of  grace.  It  is  Himself  in  action, 
going  forth  through  that  most  j)recious  attribute  of  His 
nature,  to  effect  the  work  which  it  is  His  pleasure  to 
perfoiTOL.  For  God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in 
love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him."  Such  then  is 
the  nature  of  grace — God  Himself  working  through  His 
highest  Attribute — the  love  of  God  in  action. 

But,  secondly,  what  is  the  channel  through  which  it 
is  bestowed  upon  mankind?  How  do  we  receive  the 
gifts  of  grace  ?  We  receive  them  only  through  the  me- 
diation of  Christ.  There  is  none  other  name  given 
under  heaven,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  And  when 


186 


WHITSUNDAY. 


we  speak  of  Christ,  we  speak  not  merely  of  the  Second 
Person  in  the  Ever-Blessed  Trinity,  but  of  Him  who 
was  truly  "  born  of  the  virgin,  of  her  substance — of 
that  "  One  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus."  In  Him  alone,  and  through  Him,  does 
the  creative  love  of  God  find  its  way  to  mortals.  Those 
who  are  "  without  Christ,"  are  also  "  without  God  in  the 
world."  "  Grace  and  truth  came  by  J esus  Christ."  And 
thus  has  it  been  God's  will  to  adopt  the  same  rule  in  the 
kingdom  of  Grace,  which  He  had  before  adopted  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  nature.  For  are  not  all  of  us  children 
of  that  first  man,  who  was  created  of  the  dust  ?  Have 
not  life,  and  reason,  and  sense,  flowed  into  us  in  some 
unknown  and  wonderful  manner,  through  our  inherit- 
ance of  that  nature,  of  which  he  was  the  first  possessor  ? 
It  might  have  been  God's  pleasure  to  create  every  man 
by  a  separate  exercise  of  His  power;  to  make  each 
man's  being  wholly  irrespective  of  the  being  of  his  breth- 
ren. But  such  has  not  been  His  will.  In  Adam  were 
all  those  qualities  of  mind  and  body  gathered  together, 
which  from  him  have  descended  to  his  progeny.  And 
therefore  has  that  corruption,  which  in  him  entered  into 
our  race,  extended  itself  to  all  men. 

Now  the  selfsame  law  which  was  adopted  in  respect 
to  the  first  head  of  our  race,  has  been  exerted  in  respect 
of  the  Second.  For  the  first  man  Adam  was  made  a 
living  soul,  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit." 
And,  therefore,  as  corruption  found  its  way  into  us 
through  the  one,  so  does  grace  through  the  other.  We 
are  men  only  by  inheriting  the  nature  of  the  first,  we 
are  renewed  men  only  by  inheriting  the  grace  of  the 
Second.    "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall 


WHITSUNDAY. 


187 


all  be  made  alive."  This  is  that  law  of  mediation, 
whereby  the  gift  of  God's  grace — the  exercise,  that  is, 
of  His  creative  love — is  bestowed  upon  His  creatures. 

That  such  is  the  course  of  God's  grace  is  plainly  set 
forth  in  Scripture.  We  read  little  of  its  influence  in 
the  Old  Testament :  what  we  read  is  connected  com- 
monly with  those  typical  rites  of  Jewish  Service,  which 
prepared  the  way  for  the  Son  of  Man.  But  what  do 
we  find  respecting  it  in  the  Gospels  ?  Even  here  the 
notices  of  its  effect  are  not  frequent,  and  they  have  no 
reference  to  any  gift  bestowed  by  Almighty  God  upon 
His  creatures  in  general.  They  relate  in  every  case  to 
that  mysterious  process,  whereby  Our  Lord's  Manhood 
was  consecrated  to  be  the  new  Head  to  His  brethren. 
All  that  is  said  of  grace  in  the  Gospels  is,  that  it  was 
poured,  as  into  a  fountain,  into  the  manhood  of  the  Son 
of  God,  that  from  Him  it  might  afterwards  be  distri- 
buted to  His  members.  "  The  child  grew,  and  waxed 
strong  in  spirit,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  Him." 
"  And  we  beheld  His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only- 
begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

In  this  manner  was  Our  Lord  prepared  to  be,  accord- 
ing to  His  Manhood,  "  the  first-born  of  every  creature  ; 
the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God."  This  rendered 
Him  the  Second  Adam ;  from  whom,  as  from  a  fresh 
origin,  should  flow  into  humanity  a  higher  life.  For  "  of 
His  fullness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 
Whatever  influence  is  exercised  by  the  divine  love  upon 
man — the  presence  of  that  life-giving  principle  of  grace, 
which  is  as  mighty  for  the  renewal  of  the  soul,  as  was 
once  the  creative  Word  for  the  production  of  the  body 
— all  comes  through  spiritual  union  with  that  new  Head 


188 


WHITSUNDAY. 


of  our  race,  by  whom  the  transmitted  sin  of  our  first 
parents  is  corrected.  The  various  steps  through  which 
this  wonderful  work  was  accompHshed,  are  set  before  us 
in  the  Acts  and  in  the  Epistles.  As  the  Gospels  de- 
scribe to  us  the  consecration  of  Our  Lord's  humanity,  so 
do  the  following  parts  of  Scripture  show  how  it  became 
the  channel  of  grace.  St.  John  has  related  to  us  Our 
Lord's  declaration  that  He  had  sanctified  His  man's 
nature  for  the  sake  of  His  brethren.  St.  Matthew  has 
informed  us  of  the  honour  which  awaited  it  after  His 
resurrection :  "  all  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth."  But  the  further  course  which  was  to 
be  chosen  by  the  divine  grace  is  recorded  in  the  Acts 
and  the  Epistles :  its  transmission,  namely,  from  the 
ascended  Son  of  Man  to  His  earthly  kindred.  When 
he  ascended  up  on  high,  He  led  captivity  captive,  and 
gave  gifts  unto  men." 

Thus  did  the  Great  Heir  of  humanity  obtain  spiritual 
wealth  for  His  younger  brethren.  This  was  the  very 
office  which  He  undertook  to  discharge,  through  that 
mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  which  His  own  exalta- 
tion was  the  necessary  condition.  No  sooner  was  the 
New  Head  of  man's  race  made  perfect,  than  the  gift  of 
grace  flowed  forth  from  Him  into  the  Church,  which 
is  His  Body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 
Immediately,  therefore,  do  we  hear  respecting  the 
Christian  community  (that  which  before  we  never  read 
of),  "  great  grace  was  upon  them  all."  This  was 
brought  to  pass  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  third  Person  in  the  blessed  Trinity,  through  whom 
the  God-man  fulfilled  His  promise,  "  I  will  not  leave 
you  comfortless,  I  will  come  to  you."    This  mission  and 


WHITSUNDAY. 


189 


influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  must  not  be  looked  at  as 
something  independent  of  the  Mediation  of  Christ ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the 
immediate  result  of  Christ's  Mediation,  and  was 
specially  designed  to  give  it  efficacy. 

For  what  means  that  promise  of  the  Son  of  Man,  to 
which  the  Apostles  perpetually  refer,  that  He  would  be 
wdth  them  always  to  the  end  of  the  world  ?  What  is 
it  to  be  in  Christ,"  to  "  be  found  in  Him,"  to  be 
"  members  of  His  body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones?" 
These  oft  repeated  expressions  cannot  be  a  mere  empty 
figure  ;  such  great  words  cannot  mean  nothing.  Why 
is  our  relation  to  Christ  set  against  our  relation  to 
Adam,  unless  as  we  are  truly  akin  to  the  one,  so  are 
we  also  really  associated  to  the  other  ?  What  means 
the  death  of  the  flesh,  and  the  resurrection  of  our  inner 
nature,  and  the  being  "  risen  with  Christ,"  and  the 
present  "  quickening  of  our  mortal  bodies,"  save  that 

if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin, 
but  the  spirit  is  life  because  of  righteousness  ?"  All 
these  passages  testify  to  this  great  truth,  that  there 
exists  an  order  of  grace,  as  well  as  an  order  of  nature, 
and  that  every  Christian  has  part  in  the  one,  as  every 
man  has  part  in  the  other. 

The  one  of  these,  the  order  of  nature,  began  when 
the  first  man  was  created  of  the  dust  of  the  ground ; 
but  the  other  began  when  the  manhood  was  taken  into 
God,  by  the  miraculous  conception  of  the  second  Adam. 
The  one  is  perpetuated  as  often  as  by  natural  birth 
new  individuals  are  added  to  the  family  of  man ;  but 
the  order  of  grace  is  perpetuated  as  often  as  members 
are  added  to  the  Body  of  Christ  by  the  new  birth  of 


190  WHITSUNDAY. 

Baptism.  For  "  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized 
into  J esus  Christ  have  put  on  Christ."  The  one,  then, 
is  heavenly,  spiritual,  unseen ;  the  other  depends  on 
that  material  extension  of  the  race  of  man,  which  is 
earthly  in  its  nature  and  its  ends.  The  one  is  that 
^fleshly  nature  of  the  old  man,  which  we  inherit  from 
Adam;  the  other  is  that  spiritual  nature  of  the  new 
man,  which  results  from  union  with  Christ.  "  For  the 
flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit  and  the  spirit  against 
the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other, 
so  that  ye  do  not  do  the  things  that  ye  would." 

Now,  since  these  two  principles,  like  Rebecca's  ofi*- 
spring,  are  struggling  in  the  soul  and  body  of  every 
Christian,  the  one  must  need  to  be  nourished  and 
strengthened  as  well  as  the  other.  As  our  life  is  sus- 
tained according  to  the  order  of  nature  by  those  simple 
elements  which  our  corrupt  will  so  constantly  perverts  ; 
so  do  we  need  the  quickening  influence  of  that  heavenly 
food,  which  may  quicken  our  spirits  according  to  the 
order  of  grace.  And  what  is  this  spiritual  food  ?  Our 
Lord  tells  us  in  that  sixth  chapter  of  St.  J ohn's  Gospel, 
jvherein  He  spoke  prophetically  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
^'  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink 
His  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you ;  for  My  flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink  indeed."  "  This  is  the 
bread  that  came  down  from  heaven,  that  a  man  may 
eat  thereof  and  not  die."  Look  at  it,  indeed,  according 
,/  to  the  order  of  nature,  and  Our  Lord's  body  is  in  heaven, 
I  where  it  will  keep  its  place  till  He  comes  to  judge  all 
men  at  the  day  of  doom.  But  look  at  it  according  to 
the  order  of  grace,  and  His  Manhood  is  truly  present, 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  sustaining 


WHITSUNDAY. 


191 


principle  of  ours.    "  For  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and 
my  blood  is  drink  indeed."    So  that  the  order  of  grace 
is  a  real  interference  of  the  Second  Adam  in  the  life  of 
man,  through  that  actual  communication  of  Himself, 
which  He  bestows  in  holy  ordinances.    In  His  person 
did  grace  have  its  fountain,  when  by  true  oneness  with 
Godhead,  its  uncontaminated  purity  was  present  in 
perfection  here  below.    "  We  beheld  His  glory,  the 
glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace 
and  truth."    And  from  the  same  source  does  the  text 
r  teach  us  that  it  perpetually  issues  forth  into  all  foUow- 
\  ing  generations  of  mankind  :  for  "  of  His  fulness  have 
I  all  ice  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 

And  thus  may  be  seen,  brethren,  how  the  whole 
blessed  Trinity  takes  part  in  the  recovery  of  mankind. 
For  from  the  Father's  love  did  that  grace  originate, 
which  was  the  beginning  of  man's  salvation.  And  it 
was  the  infinite  love  of  God  the  Son,  whereby  He  was 
prompted  to  sanctify  our  nature  by  taking  it  into  Him- 
self And  it  was  the  love  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
moved  this  third  Person  in  the  Ever-Blessed  Trinity  to 
undertake  that  office  of  joining  the  members  of  Christ 
to  their  Head,  w^hich  gives  such  peculiar  efficacy  to  the 
Sacraments  of  His  grace.  For  by  one  spirit  are  we  all 
baptized  into  one  body.  And  so,  too,  in  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, "  it  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  pro- 
fiteth  nothing." 

And  this  action  of  the  three  Persons  in  the  Holy  and 
Undivided  Trinity,  is  perpetually  set  before  us  in  the 
Doxology  or  Blessing  of  the  Christian  Church.  May 
there  be  with  you,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  the  grace  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  com- 


192 


WHITSUNDAY. 


inunion  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  love  of  God — the 
ultimate  and  original  principle  of  the  world's  recovery. 
The  communion  or  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost — this 
is  that  hallowed  influence,  which  diffuses  itself  through 
the  Church  of  God,  animating  it  as  the  soul  does  the 
body,  and  thus  quickening  into  life  the  element,  w^hich 
it  combines.  But  "  the  grace  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ" 
— because  in  Him  is  the  beginning  of  that  new  creation, 
which  from  Him  is  imparted  to  His  brethren  in  the 
world.  He  is  the  Head  from  wdiom  all  the  body  by 
joints  and  bands,  has  nourishment  ministered.  For  it 
is  the  Son  alone  who  became  Incarnate,  and  not  the 
Father  or  the  Holy  Ghost.  So  that  out  of  Him  grows 
that  course  of  grace,  which  is  opposed  to  the  course  of 
nature ;  that  higher  life  which  is  opposed  to  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  first  Adam.  For  "  if  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature,  old  things  are  passed  away,  behold 
all  things  are  become  new^" 

In  this  great  work  does  the  whole  Blessed  Trinity 
co-operate — the  Father  by  His  original  will,  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  the  acting  principle,  both  when  the  Son  took 
our  nature  by  Incarnation,  and  when  we  are  impreg- 
nated with  His  by  regeneration  and  grace.  For  "  He 
that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken 
your  mortal  bodies  by  His  Spirit,  that  dwelleth  in  you." 
But  that  into  which  we  are  actually  engrafted,  that 
whereof  it  may  be  truly  said,  according  to  the  course  of 
grace,  we  are  bone  of  His  bone,  flesh  of  His  flesh,  is  that 
Second  Person  in  the  undivided  Trinity,  who  has  vouch- 
safed to  become  the  New  Head  of  man's  race.  There- 
fore do  we  read  ever  of  the  grace  of  Christ  5  never  of 
the  grace  of  the  Spirit. 


WHITSUNDAY. 


193 


For  this  gift  of  grace  is  a  real  gift,  whereby  men 
through  supernatural  influence  receive  their  Maker. 
The  work  of  mediation  is  the  true  entrance  into  this 
lower  world,  of  that  higher  being,  whereby  heaven  and 
earth  are  enjoined  together.  It  is  the  reahty  of  that 
J acob's  ladder,  which  in  dim  vision  the  Patriarch  beheld. 
When  this  truth  was  made  known  to  the  later  watchers 
at  Bethlehem,  it  was  no  longer  as  a  vision  of  the  night, 
but  as  an  actual  fact,  which  changed  the  condition  of 
mankind.  For  thus  does  grace  find  its  way  from  hea- 
ven to  earth ;  and  those  who  were  by  nature  the  chil- 
dren of  the  first,  became  bv  new  birth  members  of  the 
Second  Adam. 

And  now  let  us  mark  in  conclusion  one  practical 
consequence  of  this  wondrous  mystery.  Christ  is  truly 
present  in  His  servants.  They  live,  yet  not  they,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  them.  The  whole  Church  of  the  re- 
deemed is  filled  with  that  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  once  had  its  habitation  in  our  Master's  earthly 
frame.  Therefore  should  it  all  be  like  one  holy  temple, 
consecrated  by  the  presence  of  that  hallowed  being, 
whose  dwelling  is  among  the  children  of  clay.  There- 
fore should  every  individual  heart,  each  single  body,  be 
purified  hke  that  hallowed  humanity  of  the  Son  of  God, 
whereof  every  Christian  is  a  member.  Therefore  should 
our  thoughts,  works,  and  actions,  be  cleansed  from  all 
pollution  both  of  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in 
the  fear  of  God.  For  "  as  He  is  so  are  we  in  this  world." 
"  Beloved  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God  :  and  it  doth  not 
yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when 
He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see 
Him  as  he  is." 


SERMON  XVIII. 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


II.  Corinthians,  iv.  5. 

"  We  preach  not  ourselves,  hut  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord ;  and  ourselves 
your  servants  for  Jesus'  sake." 

These  words  are  a  sort  of  epitome  of  the  Gospel.  To 
preach  Christ  the  Lord,  to  set  Him  forth  as  the  object 
of  men's  affections,  and  cause  of  their  salvation,  as  the 
channel  through  whom  all  gifts  are  bestowed  by  God  on 
man,  and  through  whom  all  prayers  ascend  from  man 
to  the  Almighty — this  is  its  sum  and  substance.  Let 
us  endeavour  to  realize,  in  the  first  place,  what  the  truth 
is  which  is  here  delivered ;  and  secondly,  let  us  consi- 
der how  it  is  permitted  to  men  to  contribute  by  their 
ministry  or  service  to  so  great  a  blessing. 

Now  what  is  it  to  preach  Christ  ?  It  is  to  set  Him 
forth  as  the  means  of  man's  reconciliation  with  God,  as 
the  channel  of  renewed  intercourse  between  man  and 
his  maker,  as  the  corrector  of  the  fall,  the  conqueror  of 
Satan,  the  Second  Adam  of  redeemed  Humanity,  through 
whom  those  gifts  of  grace  and  glory,  which  were  lost 
by  our  first  parent,  have  been  abundantly  replaced. 
Why  was  such  a  restoration  needed?  Restoration  im- 
plies that  something  has  been  lost.    And  the  purpose 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


195 


for  which  man  was  created  was  in  truth  destroyed  by 
that  sin,  which  not  only  lost  us  Paradise,  but  lost  that 
intercourse  with  God,  in  which  lies  the  happiness  of 
heaven  itself  For  the  basis  of  all  religion  lies  in  the 
conviction  that  in  God  alone  is  the  original  fountain  of 
purity  and  happiness.  The  law  of  man's  creation  was 
that  he  should  be  the  mean  whereby  these  perfections 
should  be  exhibited  upon  earth.  Therefore  was  he 
created  in  God's  image,  that  the  excellencies  of  his 
Maker  might  be  reflected  in  his  earthly  clay.  Of  this 
privilege  did  sin  deprive  him.  The  perfect  image  of 
God  was  broken  and  defaced.  Thereby  was  that  inter- 
course lost,  by  which  the  Almighty  might  have  been 
exhibited  among  His  creatures.  His  best  and  last  work, 
that  which  was  meant  to  represent  and  set  Him  forth 
below,  to  rule  over  the  inferior  creation  as  His  delegate, 
which  is  still  called  in  Scripture  "  the  creature,"  because 
His  Maker's  type  and  example  among  material  beings, 
was  by  sin  degraded  to  the  level  of  the  beasts. 

Now  by  what  means  could  this  evil  be  remedied  ? 
How  could  men  be  restored  to  their  lost  estate  ?  How 
could  that  approach  to  God  be  given  back,  of  which  sin 
had  robbed  them  ?  They  had  no  power  of  themselves 
to  fly  to  God,  because  communion  with  God  was  the 
very  gift  which  they  had  forfeited.  Therefore  did  God 
come  mercifully  to  them  ;  holiness  and  wisdom  did  not 
disdain  to  care  for  sin  and  weakness.  In  the  Person  of 
the  co-equal  Son,  the  Second  of  the  Blessed  and  con- 
substantial  Three,  did  the  Godhead  conjoin  itself  to 
man's  nature,  never  to  be  divided. 

This  is  "  the  mystery  of  God,  and  of  the  Father,  and 
of  Christ."    "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  to  Himself 


196 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


the  world."  In  His  Person  were  all  those  gifts  restored 
to  humanity,  which  by  the  fall  had  been  lost.  As  an 
ancient  writer  expresses  it,  "  God  made  man  in  His  own 
image,  in  that  same  image  in  which  man  was  afterwards 
made  God."  Whereas  man's  race  had  wholly  lost  its 
original  birthright,  there  was  given  back  to  it  in  the 
Person  of  the  Godman,  a  still  larger  measure  of  those 
blessings  which  made  up  its  primal  inheritance.  Those 
divine  graces  which  have  their  dwelling  in  the  bosom 
of  God — ^love,  purity,  light,  knowledge — all  these  which 
had  been  so  long  strangers  to  the  world,  were  in  Him 
perfectly  exhibited.  Of  these  endowments  the  first  con- 
sequence was  that  sacrifice  of  Himself  for  man's  race, 
whereby  He  made  peace  for  His  brethren.  He  their  Head, 
presented  the  only  perfect  offering  which  could  ever  be 
presented  on  behalf  of  man,  when  he  offered  Himself 
as  a  "  ransom  instead  of  many."  And  thence  comes  that 
office  of  perpetual  intercession,  whereby  He  pleads  for 
those,  in  whose  stead  He  suffered,  and  through  the  virtue 
of  His  effectual  service  gives  efficacy  to  their  prayers. 

All  this  the  Gospel  sets  forth  as  the  means  of  union 
between  God  and  man.  The  object  of  religion  being  to 
reconcile  the  creature  to  the  Creator,  to  restore  the  like- 
ness of  God  which  had  been  lost,  the  Gospel  proclaimed 
that  this  work  could  not  be  effected  by  man's  own 
efforts,  but  through  union  with  this  Divine  Head,  who 
had  thus  as  Mediator  united  Himself  to  our  race.  Herein 
the  Gospel  stood  alone.  The  schools  of  ancient  philo- 
sophy taught  men  that  they  were  to  save  themselves. 
By  self-denial,  self-resolution,  effort,  understanding,  con- 
templation— they  were  to  build  up  a  stair  which  should 
lead  them  from  earth  to  heaven.  What  said  the  Gospel  ? 


THE  GOSPEL  MIXISTRT. 


197 


"God"  is  "manifest  in  the  flesh."  God  Himself  has 
come  down  among  men.  In  the  Person  of  the  Word, 
God  is  man,  and  man  God.  Through  this  pure  and 
perfect  member  of  man's  family  must  all  His  imperfect 
and  impure  brethren  be  exalted.  They  must  be  found 
in  Him,  who  is  their  peace.  He  is  the  door,  the  Avay, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  He  is  the  one  Mediator,  or 
middle  term,  between  God  and  man.  His  man's  nature 
is  the  channel  of  all  heavenly  gifts.  "  For  as  the  Father 
hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to  the  Son  to 
have  life  in  Himself."  We  cannot  speak  too  lowly  of 
man's  nature,  looked  at  in  itself:  we  cannot  speak  too 
highly  of  man's  nature,  as  restored  in  that  Captain  of 
our  Salvation,  who  was  made  perfect  through  sufferings. 

And  these  blessings  it  was  the  merciful  purpose  of 
the  one  Mediator  to  bestow  upon  His  brethren.  For 
"  of  His  fulness  have  all  we  received  and  grace  for 
grace."  Those  heavenly  graces  which  have  their  well- 
head and  fountain  in  His  humanity,  are  ever  since  dis- 
tributed as  the  life-giving  j)rinciple  of  spiritual  illumin- 
ation among  all  His  brethren.  This  was  the  very 
purpose  of  His  earthly  course;  "for  their  sakes  I 
sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth."  His  goodness  felt  abridged  of  its 
full  triumph,  if  that  perfection,  with  which  in  His 
sacred  Person  Humanity  was  enriched,  was  not  in  its 
measure  communicated  to  His  human  kindred.  Thus 
hath  "  God,  who  commanded  the  Hght  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  shined  in  our  hearts,"  thus  have  we  "  the 
mind  of  Christ,"  thus  are  we  "  made  partakers  of  the 
Divine  image,  having  escaped  the  corruption  which  is 
in  the  world  through  lust." 


198 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


Here  then  is  the  main  truth  of  the  Gospel — the  re- 
newal of  fallen  nature  in  that  Divine  Man,  from  whom 
the  gifts  of  pardon  and  grace  are  transmitted  to  His 
brethren.  But  how,  secondly,  does  man's  ministry  con- 
duce to  this  great  work.  "  We  preach  not  ourselves 
but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  ourselves  your  servants 
for  Jesus'  sake."  We  j)ossess,  i.  e.,  no  secret  whereby 
either  we  or  you  can  of  ourselves  be  re-united  to  God : 
in  Christ  only  was  this  ancient  birthright  of  man's  race 
reclaimed,  either  for  the  one  or  the  other.  But  what 
need  of  our  service  in  this  hallowed  work  ?  The  thing 
required  is,  that  Adam's  children  maybe  joined  to  that 
new  man  J esus  Christ,  in  whom  nature  was  restored  : 
how  is  this  work  performed,  and  how  does  man's  minis- 
try conduce  to  it?  Now  to  effect  this  work  is  the 
whole  object  and  meaning  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
which  was  originally  ordained,  and  is  still  continued 
for  no  other  purpose,  than  that  through  its  instrumen- 
tality those  who  are  partakers  by  birth  of  the  fallen 
nature  of  the  first  Adam,  may,  by  regeneration  and 
grace,  be  made  partakers  of  the  renewed  nature  of  the 
Second.  For  it  pleased  Him  who  appointed  natural 
birth  to  be  the  means  of  transmitting  that  life  which 
we  have  from  our  earthly  parent,  to  appoint  the 
system  of  Church  offices,  i.  e.,  common  worship  and 
Sacraments,  as  the  means  whereby  we  might  partake 
the  renewed  nature  of  our  Heavenly  Head,  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus. 

There  are  persons  who  suppose  that  they  can  be 
joined  to  God  by  the  mere  exercise  of  their  thoughts. 
We  sit  at  home,  they  say,  we  let  our  minds  travel 
towards  God,  we  feel  no  particular  need  of  public 


0 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY.  199 

worship  or  Church  ordinances,  we  use  them  at  times, 
but  we  can  do  as  well  without  them,  and  therefore  we 
do  not  requke  the  service  of  Christian  ministers,  mas- 
much  as  we  can  hold  intercourse  with  God  by  ourselves. 
God  is  a  Spirit,  and  this  is  the  natm'al  way  in  which  a 
spiritual  substance,  like  our  own  souls,  should  hold 
communion  with  Him.  Yes,  brethren,  this  is  the 
natural  way  in  which  man  may  approach  his  Maker, 
and  if  we  could  be  saved  by  nature^  this  were  all,  doubt- 
less, which  could  be  required.  But  then  by  the  course 
of  nature  there  shall  no  flesh  be  saved.  Adam  mirjld 
have  been,  because  his  nature  was  pure ;  we  cannot  be, 
because  our  nature  is  polluted.  Our  fet  parent  might 
hold  communion  with  his  Maker  by  that  direct  inter- 
course which  was  provided  by  his  inward  thoughts. 
But  his  fallen  descendants  cannot  regain  this  privilege 
Avithout  such  real  union  with  their  new  Head,  as  the 
ordinances  of  grace  have  been  appointed  to  supply.  The 
root  of  all  holy  contemplation,  the  ground  of  intercourse 
mth  God,  is  that  living  communion  with  the  Second 
Adam,  whereby  the  gifts,  which  in  His  sacred  Person 
He  bestowed  upon  humanity  at  large,  may  become  their 
individual  portion. 

Do  men  think  little,  then,  of  the  system  of  sacraments  ? 
Do  they  suppose  that  they  can  come  to  Christ  as  well 
by  themselves  ?  They  forget  that  the  efficacy  of  these 
ordinances  depends  not  only  on  the  earnestness  with 
which  men  approach  God,  but  on  the  reality  of  those 
gifts  which  Christ  bestows  upon  His  brethren.  For 
what  gives  moment  to  these  ordinances  is,  that  they 
are  the  appointed  means  whereby  the  Head  of  man's 
race  joins  Himself  to  His  brethren.    They  are  the 


200 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


"joints  and  bands/'  whereby  the  whole  body  ha? 
nourishment  ministered.  This  is  a  divine  and  super- 
natural work  :  supernatural,  therefore,  and  divine  must 
be  the  means  through  which  it  is  effected.  And  these 
means  are  declared  in  the  express  words  of  Scripture 
to  be  the  Sacraments  of  grace.  "  As  many  of  you  as 
have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ." 
And  again,  "  we  being  many  are  one  body,  for  we  are 
all  partakers  of  that  one  bread."  And  again.  Our 
Lord  says  in  St.  John's  Gospel,  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life 
in  you."  He  spoke  not  of  course  of  natural  efficacy,  or 
a  carnal  banquet,  but  of  that  spiritual  participation  of 
His  flesh  and  blood,  which  is  bestowed  on  those  who 
"  discern  the  Lord's  body."  It  is  because  He  is  the 
only  channel  through  whom  fallen  man  can  commune 
with  the  Father,  that  those  Sacramental  ordinances 
whereby  we  are  "  found  in  Him"  are  essential  to  our 
welfare. 

And  hence  is  the  ministry  of  men  required.  Instruc- 
tion might  be  had  from  books  or  private  study;  but  the 
circumstance  which  renders  the  ministry  of  men  indis- 
pensable is  the  necessity  of  that  union  with  the  body 
of  Christ,  whereby  we  participate  in  the  new  nature 
which  He  has  bestowed  upon  humanity.  "  For  He 
gave  some  apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some 
evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and  teachers,  for  the  per- 
fecting of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ."  By  this  means 
are  the  children  of  the  first  Adam  rescued  from  the 
debasement  of  the  fall,  and  grafted  one  after  another 
into  the  body  of  the  Second.    This  is  the  work  of  God's 


THE  GOSPEL  MIXISTRT. 


201 


spirit,  using  as  His  instrument  the  hands  of  men.  For 
"  by  one  spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body." 

Does  it  seem  strange  that  so  momentous  a  work  as 
man's  spuitual  recover}-  should  be  brought  about  through 
means  so  simple  as  the  washmg  of  water,  or  the  conse- 
crated elements  of  bread  and  wine  ?  I  answer,  that 
our  birth  into  the  new  man  is  throughout  strange  and 
supernatural ;  it  is  not  that  natural  intercourse  which 
our  first  parent  possessed  with  the  author  of  his  being. 
TVhat  wonder,  then,  that  the  means  by  which  it  is 
effected  should  be  strange  and  mysterious  ?  How  mar- 
vellous is  that  earthlv  derivation  which  connects  us 
with  Adam :  how  singTilar  is  it  that  all  his  descendants 
should  be  the  perpetual  reproduction  of  his  fallen  being. 
We  see  this,  and  therefore  beheve  it.  And  shall  we  be 
surprised  if  the  law  of  our  union  with  the  second  Adam 
is  equally  mysterious  ?  "  Blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  jet  have  believed." 

One  difference  there  is,  however,  between  the  law  of 

natural  descent,  and  the  law  of  spiritual  union,  between 

the  bond  which  attaches  us  to  the  first  man,  and  that 

which  connects  us  with  the  second,  namely,  that  the 

last  is  not  like  the  first,  independent  of  our  will.  Our 

union  with  Adam  is  natural,  as  we  did  not  bring  it 

about,  so  we  cannot  end  it :  our  union  with  Christ  is 

supernatural,  but  it  is  in  our  power  to  break  it  off  by 

unbelief  or  by  sin.    Its  maintenance  depends  upon 

those  acts  of  Christ,  whereby  He  joins  Himself  to  us  in 

Sacraments ;  but  it  depends  also  upon  our  faith  and 

love.    Therefore  should  all  Christian  men  co-operate 

in  that  work,  for  which  the  Christian  ministry  was 

ordained.    For  by  all  acts  of  common  worship  do  men 

14 


202 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


maintain  their  part  in  that  body  of  Christ,  to  which  in 
Sacraments  they  are  specially  admitted. 

But  though  this  work  requires  the  participation  of 
the  individuals  who  would  profit  by  it,  yet  is  it  a 
common  work  and  needs  the  intervention  of  those  who 
have  common  authority.  For  men  cannot  apply  Christ's 
merits  to  themselves  by  their  private  will;  unless  He 
first  applies  His  merits  to  them  from  without  by  His 
public  ministry.  Else  would  the  first  movement  to- 
wards their  recovery  be  internal  and  spontaneous,  as 
the  Pelagians  teach,  instead  of  resting  on  that  eflBcacy 
of  the  New  Head  of  our  race,  which  implies  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Church,  and  the  influence  of  an  external  Sa- 
viour. Hence  the  need  of  Sacramental  rites,  and  of 
the  perpetual  sacrifice,  and  of  a  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion, and  of  an  earthly  absolution.  All  these  depend 
upon  the  truth  that  the  Intercession,  of  the  one  great 
High  Priest  is  a  reality  which  we  cannot  appropriate  to 
ourselves  by  the  mere  exercise  of  our  thoughts,  but 
which  He  must  bestow  upon  us  through  some  actual 
channel  of  intervention.  Let  us  have  but  a  deep  sense 
of  the  greatness  of  that  loss  which  was  entailed  upon  us 
by  the  fall,  of  the  immensity  of  that  interval  which 
separates  us  from  God,  and  of  the  absolute  necessity  of 
His  gracious  interference,  through  whom  only  we  are 
re-united  to  our  ofiended  Creator,  and  we  shall  be  in  no 
danger  of  supposing  that  we  can  dispense  with  those 
means  whereby  He  joins  us  to  Himself  The  value  of 
the  Christian  ministry  must  stand  or  fall  according  as 
men  value  the  mediation  of  Christ.  To  deem  highly 
of  the  means  of  grace  is  to  attach  great  weight  to  the 
presence  and  efficacy  of  the  New  Head  of  humanity. 


THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY. 


203 


And  this  is  the  true  mode  of  holding  communion  with 
the  unseen  world ;  it  is  the  real  imparting  of  God's  na- 
turOj  the  antidote  to  the  fall,  the  "feast  of  fat  things 
well  refined/'  to  which  prophets  and  kings  looked  forth 
with  rapturous  expectation. 


SERMON  XIX. 


THE  SACKAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


[Preached  before  the  University  of  Oxford,  March  10th,  1850.] 

I.  St.  John,  iv.  2,  3. 

Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God:  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  fleshy  is  of  God:  And  every  spirit  that 
confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  not  of  God; 
and  this  is  that  spirit  of  Antir  Christ j  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  it 
should  corned 

Here  is  a  statement  brouglit  before  us  of  the  utmost 
moment — how  we  are  to  discriminate  between  God's 
Spirit  and  that  which  is  opposed  to  Him,  between  Christ 
and  Anti-Christ,  between  truth  and  error.  Its  import- 
ance is  enhanced  by  its  place,  amidst  the  latest  portions 
of  Scripture;  and  by  the  earnestness  with  which  the 
warning  is  repeated  by  the  holy  Apostle.  He  returns 
to  it  in  the  seventh  verse  of  his  second  Epistle :  "  Many 
deceivers  are  entered  into  the  world,  who  confess  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh.  This  is  a  de- 
ceiver and  an  Anti-Christ." 

Now  though  this  passage  found  its  immediate  fulfil- 
ment in  the  heresies  of  the  early  age,  yet  those  who 
appreciate  the  depth  of  Holy  Scripture  will  not  suppose 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


205 


that  its  meaning  was  thereby  exhausted.  For  the  first 
heresies  by  which  the  Gospel  was  opposed,  did  but  in- 
dicate what  was  the  natural  course  of  error;  and  thus 
show  in  what  manner  human  passion  must  always  come 
into  collision  with  Divine  truth.  The  same  phenomena 
must  perpetually  recur,  so  long  as  man's  nature  is  cor- 
rupt, and  God's  counsels  are  unalterable.  So  that  the 
general  principle  which  is  here  laid  down  will  be  found 
applicable  in  every  age.  For  the  Apostle  enounces  it 
as  an  universal  truth,  that  the  main  opposition  to  the 
Gospel,  the  principle  which  deserves  to  be  called  Anti- 
Christian,  that  which  is  the  Anti-Christ  itself,  is  to  be 
found  here — in  the  denial  that  the  work  effected  by  the 
Son  of  God  has  been  effected  through  His  taking  our 
flesh.  Let  us  consider  then,  first,  what  is  the  exact 
nature  of  that  truth,  which  the  Apostle  declares  to  be 
essential — "every  spirit  which  confesseth  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  of  God."  This  will  lead 
us  to  inquire,  secondly,  what  that  error  is  by  which  it 
is  contradicted.  And  thus  we  shall  be  able,  in  conclu- 
sion, to  appreciate  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  oppo- 
sition. 

Now  the  doctrine  insisted  upon  by  the  Apostle,  may 
be  said  in  one  word,  to  be  that  of  Mediation.  He  is  not 
speaking  to  persons  who  were  ignorant  that  such  a 
being  had  existed  as  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  that 
through  His  instrumentality  advantages  had  been  be- 
stowed upon  men.  But  he  dwells  on  the  point  that  it 
was  through  the  taking  our  flesh  that  these  benefits 
were  conferred  by  the  Son  of  God.  They  resulted,  that 
is,  from  the  fact  that  He  became  truly  a  middle  person 
between  us  and  the  Father.    For  on  this  rests  not  only 


206 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


the  sacrifice  offered  upon  the  cross,  but  that  whole  work 
of  Atonement,  whereby  man  is  reconciled  to  God. 
When  mankind  fell,  in  their  first  father  Adam,  no  mean 
was  left  for  their  recovery  save  through  their  Second 
Head,  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  fulness  of  time  there  came 
forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  wherein  the  an- 
cient purity  of  man's  being  was  again  exhibited.  Into 
this  new  heir  and  representative  of  manhood  did  the 
Godhead  pour  all  the  divine  gifts,  which  can  have  been 
originally  designed  to  be  the  portion  of  the  human 
family.  In  Him  were  all  graces  concentrated,  which 
could  render  the  creature  acceptable  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Creator.  Thus  was  Christ  fitted  not  only  to  be  the  one 
sacrifice  for  sin — ^the  only  perfect  offering  which  should 
ever  be  presented  to  the  Father,  but  likewise  to  be  the 
sole  Mediator,  the  only  channel,  through  whom  divine 
gifts  should  be  bestowed  upon  men.  They  came  from 
God  to  Him  by  unity  of  nature,  they  come  from  Him 
to  His  brethren  by  sanctification  and  grace.  Thus  did 
Our  Lord  render  His  own  humanity  the  true  medium 
for  communicating  that  renewed  nature,  which  should 
leaven  the  whole  mass  of  corrupted  mortality,  and  de- 
clare Mediation  to  be  the  great  law  of  the  Gospel  king- 
dom, the  central  fact  in  the  economy  of  grace.  The 
spiritual  manna,  whereby  the  new  Israel  is  sustained 
in  its  weary  journey  through  the  wilderness  of  life — 
what  is  it  but  that  very  Body  which  He  endued  with 
life-giving  energy  by  the  taking  of  the  manhood  into 
God?  This  is  that  great  truth  of  the  actual  Mediation 
of  the  God-man,  which  ancient  heresy  robbed  of  its 
reality,  but  which  the  Apostle  declares  to  be  charac- 
teristic of  the  Gospel.    We  may  sum  it  up  in  St.  Pauls 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


207 


words :  "  as  we  have  born  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we 
shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly :"  the  process, 
namely,  which  has  its  end  in  the  resurrection  of  saints, 
has  its  beginning  in  the  regeneration  of  sinners. 

II.  And  can  this  truth  possibly  be  gainsayed  ?  Is 
there  any  principle  which  can  be  arrayed  against  it  ? 
Is  it  not  so  suited  to  the  wants  of  man,  as  to  convey  its 
evidence  in  itself?  How  comes  it  then  to  be  in  theory 
but  partially  admitted  among  ourselves;  and  to  be 
almost  universally  disallowed  in  act  ?  For  whatever 
may  be  the  language  of  our  Public  Offices,  yet  silent 
Churches,  deserted  altars,  infrequent  Eucharists,  are 
but  too  plain  a  witness  to  the  national  unbelief.  The 
counteracting  system  must  appeal  surely  to  some  prin- 
ciple of  our  nature,  and  be  built  upon  some  law,  which 
we  are  compelled  to  admit.  And  so  it  doubtless  is :  for 
if  the  principle  of  mediation  be  our  revealed  mode  of 
intercourse  with  God,  yet  is  there  another  channel, 
which  the  very  constitution  of  our  being  forbids  us  to 
neglect.  This  compound  being,  compacted  of  soul  and 
body,  has  in  it  two  distinct  principles,  and  while  the 
one  supplies  our  means  of  holding  converse  with  our 
brethren,  our  relation  to  God  depends  upon  the  other. 
For  the  external  frame,  which  enables  us  to  play  our 
part  in  the  delusive  pageant  of  life,  is  not  really  our- 
selves. And  the  hidden  principle,  which  witnesses  by 
intuitive  consciousness  in  each  man's  bosom,  claims 
natural  kindred  with  the  Most  High.  For  it  is  still  the 
image  of  that  parent  Spirit,  which  has  never  been 
wholly  expunged  from  the  minds  which  it  created. 

Hence  arises  the  feeling,  of  which  men  are  naturally 
possessed,  that  the  inward  spirit  can  address  itself  by 


208 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


immediate  resort  to  the  Supreme  Mind.  Whether  man 
walks  abroad  to  meditate  in  the  lonely  valley,  or  whe- 
ther conscience  opposes  itself  to  temptation  amidst  the 
throng  of  life — in  either  case  his  thoughts  arise  to  the 
Being  who  created  him,  with  a  confidence  that  no  me- 
dium of  intercourse  can  increase  the  closeness  of  that 
relation,  whereby  the  mind  tends  towards  its  parent 
source.  And  especially  when  he  enters  into  some  ma- 
jestic temple,  which  the  piety  of  early  times  has  reared 
to  the  unseen  God,  and  hears  "  the  pealing  organ  blow, 
to  the  full- voiced  quire  below :"  then  does  his  heart 
swell  within  him,  "  all  heaven"  rises  up  before  his  eyes, 
and  he  feels  a  strong  conviction  that  enthusiasm,  mys- 
tery, divine  communion,  are  not  things  which  are  for- 
bidden to  the  mere  worshipper  of  nature :  seeing  that 
they  ally  themselves  with  those  modes  of  access  with 
Himself,  which  the  Highest  has  left  open  to  every  being, 
in  whom  remain  traces  of  the  Divine  Mind. 

III.  Such,  brethren,  are  the  two  systems  of  opinion 
which  we  have  to  contrast :  that  which  the  Apostle 
declares  to  be  the  truth  of  God,  and  that  which  he  stig- 
matizes as  the  Spirit  of  Anti-christ.  And  these  two 
we  may  term  respectively  the  Sacramental  and  Anti- 
sacramental  systems  of  religion.  For  since  the  doctrine 
of  Our  Lord's  Mediation  is  founded  upon  His  taking 
our  flesh :  since  its  primary  law  is  the  re-creation  in 
His  person  of  our  common  nature,  the  entrance  of 
divine  graces  into  humanity  in  its  Head  and  Chief ; — 
therefore  some  medium  is  required,  by  which  those 
things,  which  were  stored  up  in  Him,  maybe  distributed 
to  His  brethren.  To  speak  of  the  Head  as  the  fountain 
of  grace,  is  to  assume  the  existence  of  streams,  by  which 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


209 


it  may  be  transmitted  to  His  members.  Now  this 
function  is  so  j)lainly  assigned  to  Sacraments,  that 
nothing  else  can  be  alleged  to  sujDply  their  place.  If 
union  with  Christ  be  union  with  His  manhood,  it  is 
clearly  through  those  means,  whereby  we  become 
members  of  His  Body  that  we  are  united  to  Himself 
Now  it  is  explicitly  revealed  that  we  are  "  haptized  into 
one  body,"  and  that  "  those  who  are  haptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ."  And  what  perpetuates  our  union, 
save  that  participation  in  His  flesh  and  blood,  which  is 
not  less  distinctively  declared  to  be  the  means  whereby 
we  continue  to  be  one  body  in  Himself? 

On  these  means  of  union  are  built  all  those  affections 
and  sympathies,  which  ripen  into  the  fulness  of  the 
divine  hfe.  Prayer,  praise,  the  converse  of  the  thoughts ; 
public  worship  or  private  meditation — all  these  are 
means  of  intercourse  with  Christ,  which  have  their 
origin  in  the  Christian's  oneness  with  the  Church's 
Head.  Not  that  communion  with  Christ  is  confined  to 
the  occasions  of  Sacramental  approach ;  but  they  supply 
the  principle,  on  which  all  the  other  ordinances  of 
grace  are  dependent.  For  that  real  union  must  under- 
lie them  all,  whereby  men  are  truly,  and  not  only  in 
name  united  in  Christ.  And  this  union  has  its  being 
through  that  Sacramental  relation,  whereby  we  are 
members  of  His  Body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones, 
And  as  this  is  the  Sacramental,  so  that  which  is  opposed 
to  it  may  be  called  the  Anti-sacramental  system.  For 
its  characteristic  is  the  assertion  of  such  immediate 
union  between  the  creature  and  the  Creator,  that  no 
hnk  is  needed  to  unite  them.  The  Unembodied  Power, 
the  Merciful  One  regarded   only  according  to  His 


210 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


Divine  nature,  is  supposed  to  be  so  near  to  each  man's 
spirit,  that  each  man's  thoughts  need  only  to  travel  forth 
in  order  to  find  Him.  To  what  purpose  then  were 
priest,  or  altar,  or  Sacrament— nay,  to  what  purpose 
the  mediating  humanity  of  the  Son  of  God  Himself, 
since  that  which  is  desired  is  attained  without  them. 

Neither  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  contrariety 
between  these  two  systems  is  a  mere  technical  distinc- 
tion ;  resulting  from  certain  arbitrary  rules,  which 
have  been  observed  in  the  dispensation  of  divine  bless- 
ings. To  suppose  that  artificial  restraints  had  been 
imposed  on  the  free  course  of  that  spiritual  life,  which 
is  the  principle  of  man's  recovery,  would  be  intolerable 
to  earnest  minds.  Our  short-sighted  wisdom  could  not 
indeed  have  prescribed  limits  beforehand  to  the  divine 
counsels  ;  but  it  is  not  forbidden  us  to  meditate  on  the 
actions  of  Supreme  Goodness,  and  to  observe  the  light 
which  they  throw  on  the  great  cause  of  all  things — 
the  nature  of  God  Himself.  Now  this  may  be  seen 
especially  in  the  case  before  us.  For  what  is  all  reli- 
gion but  the  reaching  forth  of  the  finite  after  the  in- 
finite, the  supplying  of  those  wants,  which  our  higher 
nature  renders  us  competent  to  feel,  but  which  our 
lower  nature  renders  us  incompetent  to  satisfy  ? 

For  there  is  a  double  nature  in  man.  His  finite 
being  is  bounded  by  the  conditions  of  time,  and  place, 
and  circumstance.  These  assign  his  individual  position 
in  the  world  of  being.  But  then  he  is  conscious  of 
another  mode  of  existence.  The  unlimited  combina- 
tion of  his  thoughts  opens  a  vista  into  the  infinite. 
They  can  find  satisfaction  in  nothing,  which  is  less  un- 
bounded than  themselves.    So  that  the  thoughts  which 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


211 


range  at  large  through  the  unseen  and  eternal,  lead  us 
up  to  God  Himselfj  as  the  only  centre  and  end  of  the 
beings  whom  He  has  created. 

Now  in  what  manner  can  the  limited  be  brought  into 
relation  with  the  unlimited?  How  can  the  finite 
become  one  with  the  Infinite  ?  Is  this  a  process  w^hich 
is  confined  to  man's  intellect  alone  ?  Is  a  privilege 
allowed  to  the  superior  part  of  his  being,  which  his  in- 
ferior nature  does  not  share  ?  What  were  this  but  the 
error  of  the  Gnostics ;  and  how  singular  to  recognize  the 
ancient  delusion  among  those  who  smile  at  the  fanciful 
shape  in  which  their  omi  opinions  were  formerly  drest  ? 
For  what  was  the  alleged  ojDposition  between  matter 
and  God,  but  the  idea  that  in  the  limitations  of  our 
finite  being  lay  the  origin  of  evil,  and  that  to  escape 
from  them  was  to  enter  at  once  upon  a  higher  mode  of 
existence.  And  this  is  identical  with  the  thought,  that 
though  our  complex  nature  is  bound  down  to  earth  by 
the  law  of  its  material  being,  yet  that  in  the  mind  we 
have  an  open  door,  which  enables  us  at  once  to  enter 
into  communion  with  God.  If  this  were  so,  then  would 
the  alienation,  which  has  separated  man  from  God,  be 
attributable,  not  to  the  perverseness  of  his  will,  but  to 
the  conditions  of  his  nature.  It  would  seem  as  though 
the  pure  spirit,  which  could  range  unchecked  through 
the  regions  of  the  infinite,  were  contaminated  by  its 
imprisonment  in  those  material  frames,  which  gave  to 
its  several  portions  an  individual  life  and  separate  con- 
sciouness.  So  that  the  material  structure  would  be  the 
true  cause  of  debasement,  and  man  would  be  separated 
from  his  Maker  by  the  accident  of  isolation,  and  not  by 
the  malignity  of  sin. 


212 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


Such  is  the  necessary  result  of  denying  that  Sacra- 
mental system  which  is  built  upon  the  notion  of  Our 
Lord's  humanity.  For  it  is  to  imply  that  a  channel  of 
intercourse  exists  already ;  and  where  can  such  a  thing 
be  looked  for,  save  in  that  portion  of  our  nature  which 
retains  the  most  lively  traces  of  the  Image  of  God  ? 
And  this  erroneous  estimate  of  man's  nature  leads  to  an 
analogous  misconception  respecting  the  nature  of  God. 
A  false  Anthropology  finds  its  complement  in  a  false 
Theology.  For  if  the  limitation  of  his  being  is  the  secret 
of  man's  weakness^  God's  excellence  must  consist  in  His 
exemption  from  the  like  defect.  So  that  mere  infinity 
would  be  supposed  to  be  the  characteristic  of  God.  And 
thus  would  those  Moral  Attributes  be  lost  sight  of, 
which  rest  upon  His  Personal  existence  as  the  Only 
Good.  And  we  should  be  precipitated  into  that  abyss 
of  Pantheism,  in  which  the  heresies  of  modern  times 
will  finally  result. 

Thus  does  the  identity  between  ancient  and  recent 
error  render  the  Apostle's  warning  against  the  one  no 
less  applicable  to  the  other.  And  as  the  error  is  the 
same,  so  is  the  principle  which  is  opposed  to  it  the  same 
also.  Is  it  asked  how  can  things  which  are  wholly 
diverse  be  brought  into  relation  with  one  another,  how 
can  the  finite  become  one  with  the  Infinite  ?  the  answer 
is  given  in  one  word,  through  the  Incarnation  of  Christ. 
Let  us  confess  only  "  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the 
flesh,"  and  however  far  we  may  be  from  comprehend- 
ing this  mystery,  we  cannot  choose  but  believe  it.  For 
was  not  this  the  very  work  which  was  efiected  by  "  the 
taking  of  the  manhood  into  God?"  "Were  not  the  finite 
and  the  infinite  bound  together  by  that  personal  exist- 


THE  SACRAMEXTAL  SYSTEM.  213 

ence,  whereby  man  and  God  were  united  in  the  instant 
of  His  taking  our  flesh  ?  Thus  did  Deity  become  capa- 
ble, in  the  human  nature  of  the  Word,  of  sympathizing 
with  human  sorrows  ;  and  manhood  became  capable  of 
being  the  seed  of  grace,  through  its  being  taken  into 
God.  The  one  was  able  to  participate  through  its  in- 
ferior natm'e  in  the  weakness  of  limited  humanity ;  the 
other  through  its  aUiance  with  a  superior  nature  was 
endued  with  heavenly  efficacy.  Thus  did  Our  Lord's 
humanity  become  that  very  source  of  life,  which  is  dis- 
tributed through  Sacraments  as  the  life  of  His  brethren  : 
the  Infinite  Head  communicates  Himself  through  these 
channels  to  His  finite  brethren  :  God  is  in  Christ  recon- 
cihng  to  Himself  the  world :  so  that  the  efficacy  of 
these  ordhiances  depends  wholly  upon  om^  estimate  of 
Him,  with  whom  they  ally  us  :  and  to  accept  His  Me- 
diation as  a  truth  is  to  receive  that  Sacramental  sj^stem, 
whereby  He  is  come  in  the  flesh  as  the  re-creator  of 
mankind. 

Here  let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  observe  the  utter 
futility  of  that  common  notion,  that  the  casual  perusal 
of  Holy  Scripture  will  enable  men  to  appreciate  the 
mysteries  of  God's  kingdom.  True,  the  word  of  God, 
when  studied  with  that  aid  which  is  supplied  by  His 
Church's  teaching,  is  the  \evy  mirror  which  reflects  the 
secrets  of  the  divine  will.  But  here  we  have  a  point  of 
primary  importance ;  in  what  manner,  namely,  man  is 
brought  into  relation  with  God ;  and  nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  hear  men  decide  it  by  appeahng  to 
some  detached  words  of  Holy  "Writ.  Whereas  it  has 
been  shown  that  elementary  as  this  question  is,  direct 
as  is  its  relation  to  all  the  practical  afiairs  of  life,  its 


214 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


settlement  involves  the  deepest  of  all  considerations; 
it  implies  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  man,  and  into 
the  nature  of  God,  which  leads  into  the  most  mysterious 
secrets  of  Theology. 

ly.  To  such  an  inquiry  the  present  time  is  too  brief 
to  do  justice ;  it  will  be  sufficient  to  observe  the  prac- 
tical conclusion  which  the  text  suggests — the  absolute 
contrariety,  namely,  between  those  two  systems  which 
have  been  opposed  to  one  another.  The  Sarcamental 
and  Anti-sacramental  systems  are  two  diflferent  religions, 
and  to  rest  our  hope  of  salvation  on  the  one,  is  to  say 
anathema  to  the  other.  Such  is  plainly  the  force  of  the 
Apostle's  words.  To  affirm  the  doctrine  of  Mediation 
and  to  deny  it — to  assert  the  reality  of  those  things, 
which  the  Son  of  God  effected  by  coming  in  the  flesh, 
and  to  call  their  reality  into  question — are  as  much  op- 
posed as  light  and  darkness,  as  truth  and  error.  The 
discrepancy  may  pass  unobserved  for  a  time,  as  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Arian  struggle,  that  dispute  was 
at  times  evaded  by  an  ambiguous  phraseology ;  but  it 
is  a  fundamental  question,  on  which  rests  the  Church's 
life  or  death,  and  which,  when  once  discerned,  must  of 
necessity  be  decided.  Nothing  is  more  hateful  than  to 
raise  unnecessary  contentions  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
But  "  to  every  thing  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to 
every  purpose  under  the  heaven.  There  is  a  time  to 
keep  silence,  and  a  time  to  speak — a  time  of  war  and  a 
time  of  peace."  And  it  was  the  Apostle  of  love  who  taught 
us  that  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  a  deceiver  and  an  Anti-christ. 

For  take  the  case  of  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  In 
this  ordinance  of  the  Gospel  a  natural  emblem  of  puri- 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


215 


fication  was  invested  with  supernatural  force.  The 
washing  of  the  body  must  always  have  seemed  typical 
of  the  inward  ablution  of  the  mind.  But  Baptism  re- 
ceived a  new  meaning,  when  it  was  no  longer  "  the  put- 
ting away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the  right 
hand  of  God."  Thus  did  it  find  an  analogy  in  that  new 
world  on  which  Noah  entered  through  the  deluge  wa- 
ters :  for  "  we  are  buried  with  Him  by  Baptism  into 
death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  again  by  the  glory 
of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness 
of  Hfe."  In  Baptism,  that  is,  we  partake  of  that  hal- 
lowed nature,  ^srhich  entered  into  the  line  of  humanity 
in  the  New  Head  of  our  race,  that  from  Him  it  might 
be  communicated  to  all  His  brethren.  Thus  does  the 
recreation,  which  began  in  Him,  extend  to  His  mem- 
bers. For  Christ,  according  to  His  manhood,  is  "  the 
first-born  of  every  creature,  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion of  God."  And  into  us  also  there  is  a  new  life  in- 
fused by  supernatural  process,  which  is  the  spring  of 
our  new  being.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new 
creature ;  old  things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things 
are  become  new."  The  Apostle's  words  are  too  weighty, 
surely,  to  be  resolved  into  a  mere  figure  of  speech :  if 
we  are  really  to  be  saved,  we  need  a  real,  and  not  a 
metaphorical  regeneration.  Yet  how  shall  it  be  obtained, 
save  through  the  extension  of  that  divine  power,  which 
became  one  with  manhood,  in  the  miraculous  instant  of 
Our  Lord's  conception  ?  In  this  manner  is  the  finite  re- 
constructed by  the  Infinite.  And  thus  is  a  true  work 
effected  in  Holy  Baptism,  whereby  heaven  and  earth 


216  THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 

are  brought  into  union ;  Christ  is  truly  born  again  in 
all  His  members ;  and  the  seed  of  the  corrupt  is  super- 
seded by  that  of  the  regenerate  Adam. 

Such  is  the  Sacramental  theory ;  now  take  the  oppo- 
site one.  And  by  the  opposite  one  is  not  meant  only 
the  theory  of  those  who  reject  Baptism  ;  for  the  parties 
who  employ  it  as  it  was  employed  by  Jews  or  Heathen, 
are  not  less  really  opposed  to  its  Christian  signification, 
as  our  means  of  union  with  the  manhood  of  Christ.  For 
the  use  of  Baptism  may  be  retained  as  a  harmless  con- 
cession to  custom,  or  as  an  indulgence  in  the  taste  for 
acted  services,  or  as  a  graceful  adoption  of  ancient  man- 
ners, or  as  a  sign  or  seal  of  past  acts  and  future  expec- 
tations ;  but  unless  it  be  believed  to  be  the  real  means 
of  union  with  the  manhood  of  Christ,  it  can  only  be  a 
superfluous  and  unnecessary  action.  And  on  this  sup- 
position, the  movement  whereby  a  child  who  is  born  in 
the  corrupt  image  of  his  parents,  is  refashioned  after  the 
perfect  image  of  God,  cannot  have  an  external  source 
in  that  re-creation  of  nature,  which  began  in  the  Incar- 
nation of  Christ,  but  must  have  an  internal  one  in  that 
rectification  of  the  child's  nature,  which  has  its  begin- 
ning in  his  individual  mind.  Men  may  seek  a  further 
cause  of  this  movement  in  God's  immediate  influence  on 
the  minds  of  His  creatures  (they  may  assume  that  in 
some  cases  there  is  an  arbitrary  gift  of  prevenient 
grace) ;  but  such  a  theory  leads  directly  to  Fatalism, 
because  it  implies  that  those  renewing  gifts,  without 
which  corrupt  nature  cannot  be  restored,  are  bestowed 
only  on  those  whom  the  Almighty,  by  arbitrary  selec- 
tion, impels  to  use  them.  And  yet  to  attribute  capa- 
bility of  action  to  every  child,  but  to  suppose  that  it 


THE  SACRAMEXTAL  SYSTEM.  217 

waxes  effectual  through  that  grace  of  God,  which  He 
bestows  on  those  whom  He  discerns  will  use  it,  is  not 
less  distinctly  allied  to  the  Pelagian  heresy.  For  to 
rest  the  efficacy  of  Baptism,  in  this  manner,  on  foreseen 
obedience,  is  to  suppose  that  God's  grace  can  be  pur- 
chased by  human  merit. 

But  whether  men's  denial  of  the  doctrine  of  Bap- 
tismal grace  be  rested  on  Fatalism  or  on  Pelagianism, 
it  is  equally  incompatible  with  the  Mediation  of  Christ. 
For  in  either  case  Baptism  is  of  no  real  efficacy.  It  is 
not  the  mean  through  which  a  supernatural  work  is 
done,  but  the  sign  by  which  a  natural  work  is  repre- 
sented. There  is  no  engrafting  into  the  nature  of 
Christ;  but  the  mere  eliciting  of  those  principles  of  the 
child's  nature  which  belong  to  its  original  stock.  That 
fundamental  Article  of  the  Creed,  the  doctrine  of  "  one 
Baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins,"  is  contradicted.  The 
office  of  Our  Lord's  manhood  is  superseded.  So  far  as 
regards  practice,  there  is  a  virtual  denial  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh. 

And  is  not  this  sj'stem  absokitely  incompatible  with 
that  which  was  before  exhibited  ?  Are  they  not  two 
different  religions  ?  If  we  adopt  one,  must  we  not  dis- 
card the  other  ?  Can  we  confess  Christ's  Mediation, 
and  also  deny  it  ?  Allow  the  one,  and  the  Sacramental 
system  is  a  groundless  superstition :  allow  the  other, 
and  the  Anti-Sacramental  system  is  a  presumptuous 
unbelief. 

The  same  contrast  might  be  exhibited  in  respect  to 
the  Holy  Eucharist.  If  Our  Lord's  intercession  as  man 
be  a  real  act,  whereby  we  participate  through  that  per- 
petual oblation,  wherein  we  show  the  Lord's  death  till 


218 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


He  come^  then  should  this  service  be  the  very  centre 
of  our  worship,  and  the  basis  of  our  prayers.  We 
should  look  upon  it  as  our  continual  means  of  partici- 
pating in  that  divine  nature,  which  mercifully  submitted 
to  the  conditions  of  humanity,  in  order  that  the  finite 
might  be  pervaded  by  the  Infinite.  Is  such  a  thing 
impossible  ?  Then  has  not  God  become  man  :  then  is 
Christianity  a  dream,  and  the  Doctrine  of  the  Cross  a 
fable.  For  if  nature  can  save  us,  then  is  it  an  idolatry 
to  rest  on  grace ;  but  if  we  can  only  be  saved  by  grace, 
then  to  rest  on  nature  is  an  infidel  delusion. 

Which  of  these  systems,  brethren,  shall  be  adopted 
by  ourselves  ?  I  ask  not  as  if  the  question  were  doubt- 
ful, but  because  the  Church  looks  to  this  place,  and  to 
this  congregation,  to  show  that  they  are  ready  to  testify 
to  the  truth  by  their  deeds.  For  why  have  you  a 
faculty  of  theology,  and  a  local  government,  and  insti- 
tutions which  are  independent  of  the  popular  voice,  and 
associations  which  bind  you  to  past  times,  save  that  in 
you  the  Church  should  have  a  rallying-point  in  mo- 
ments of  trial,  and  a  safeguard  against  the  sudden  move- 
ments of  popular  caprice  ?  For  if  thou  altogether 
holdeth  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then  shall  there  enlarge- 
ment and  deliverance  arise  to  Israel  from  another  place ; 
but  thou  and  thy  Father's  house  shall  be  destroyed : 
and  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  into  autho- 
rity, for  such  a  time  as  this  ?"  It  can  never  be  expected, 
indeed,  that  a  Rationalistic  religion  will  want  sup- 
porters, when  unchecked  scope  is  given  to  that  lawless- 
ness of  the  human  will,  which  not  even  the  strongest 
coercion  could  master.  Yet  there  is  a  majesty  in  truth, 
which  is  strong  enough  finally  to  prevail.  Especially 


THE  SACRAMEXTAL  SYSTEM. 


219 


when  such  an  appeal  addresses  itself  to  the  young, 
■whose  truthfulness  is  guaranteed  by  the  independence 
of  their  age,  as  well  as  by  the  hereditary  integrity  of 
our  nation. 

For  the  principles  which  have  been  set  before  you 
will  come  into  colKsion  not  now  only  nor  once,  but 
during  those  long  j^ears,  when  it  will  be  yours  to  guide 
the  public  sentiment,  and  give  utterance  to  the  public 
voice.  Pro^dde  yourselves  then,  I  beseech  jon,  with 
true  principles  of  action,  that  when  you  have  entered 
upon  the  arena  of  middle  life,  you  may  not  be  compelled 
to  rescind  your  judgment,  and  retrace  your  steps.  Yet 
think  not  that  such  principles  are  to  be  gained  only  by 
intellectual  culture,  or  that  to  admit  the  irrefragable 
conclusions  of  logic  is  an  Evangelical  belief  Among 
the  most  telling  arguments  against  Sacramental  grace 
is  the  experience  of  ungodly  men,  who  having  sinned 
against  it  by  riot  in  their  youth,  sin  against  it  by  incre- 
dulity in  their  age.  For  with  our  moral  as  with  our 
intellectual  opportunities,  those  who  are  the  last  to  use 
are  commonly  the  first  to  disparage  them.  Who  so 
ready  to  undervalue  that  incomparable  discijDline,  which 
the  poets,  historians,  and  philosophers  of  ancient  time 
supply  to  the  understanding,  as  those  whose  self-will  or 
idleness  has  shrunk  from  sustaining  it?  Nor  is  it  un- 
natural that  men  should  desire  to  charge  their  defects 
upon  their  circumstances,  rather  than  on  themselves. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  things  of  the  Spirit  : 
for  what  argument  so  sways  with  men  as  their  own 
consciousness,  and  what  so  probable,  therefore,  as  that 
ungodliness  should  engender  unbelief?  Inquire  why 
men  deny  Sacramental  gracC;  you  will  find  the  common 


220 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  SYSTEM. 


reason  to  be  that  they  have  themselves  misused  it. 
Having  cut  themselves  off  from  Christ's  presence  by 
deadly  sins,  and  impatient  of  so  tedious  a  mode  of  re- 
concilement as  confession,  repentance,  and  amendment, 
they  seek  some  shorter  road  of  approach  to  God.  And 
such  they  fancy  themselves  to  possess  in  that  excite- 
ment of  feeling,  which  brings  them  into  natural  relation 
with  their  Maker.  And  they  forget  that  the  thing 
which  they  despise  is  the  Mediation  of  Christ  and  His 
true  presence  with  His  people.  For  these  depend  on 
that  coming  in  the  flesh,  which  has  its  effect  through 
those  Sacramental  ordinances  which  they  have  slighted. 
Thus  do  they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  true  Sun  of  right- 
eousness, and  walk  in  the  light  of  their  fire,  and  of  the 
sparks  which  they  have  kindled. 

So  close  is  the  alliance  between  a  pure  life  and  a 
right  creed.  Would  3^ou  be  fitted  then  to  engage  safely 
in  the  contentions  of  the  world  ;  to  maintain  the  ancient 
institutions  of  yom  country,  and  to  vindicate  the  real 
dignity  of  man,  your  present  self-denial,  purity,  and 
faith,  must  be  the  true  husbandry  which  will  jDrecede 
so  honourable  an  harvest.  Do  not  wait  for  a  new  place, 
or  fresh  associates,  or  a  riper  age;  but  live  q2oio  in 
purity  of  heart,  if  you  would  not  loose  the  power  of 
appreciating  truth  in  time  to  come.  For  truth  comes 
only  from  that  Infinite  Source,  whose  presence  must  be 
anticipated  by  grace  in  this  life,  if  we  would  possess 
His  full  fruition  in  life  everlasting." 


SERMON  XX. 


CHURCH  UNION. 


St.  John,  xv.  5. 

I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  hranches.'' 

This  is  almost  the  only  parable,  if  such  it  may  at  all 
be  termed,  in  St.  John's  Gospel.  The  last  surviving 
Apostle  was  too  much  charged  with  the  realities  of  Our 
Lord's  teaching,  or  his  hearers  were  too  well  prepared 
for  the  strong  meat  of  the  Gospel,  to  make  it  needful 
that  he  should  linger  in  similitudes.  Therefore  we 
should  expect  a  peculiar  measure  of  reality  in  the 
parable  before  us. 

Each  of  Our  Lord's  examples  has  its  leading  feature. 
The  parable  of  the  leaven  describes  the  unseen  and 
silent  manner  in  which  the  faith  of  Christ  spread  from 
one  to  another,  till  it  had  infected  the  whole  Pagan 
world.  The  parable  of  the  growing  crop  describes  the 
gradual  increase  which  it  maintained  from  generation  to 
generation.  The  parable  of  the  sower  shows  its  origin 
in  God's  word.  The  mustard  seed  is  emblematic  of  the 
rapidity  of  its  growth.  But  what  this  parable  appears 
to  teach  is,  that  the  principle  of  growth  is  its  principle 
of  extension.  It  has  some  inward  law  of  life  in  it. 
The  parts  caimot  increase  save  by  being  united  to  the 


222 


CHURCH  UNION. 


whole,  and  the  extension  of  the  whole  depends  on  the 
life  of  the  members. 

This  is  what  we  mean  by  speaking  of  a  thing  as  an 
organized  being.  A  crowd  of  men  is  equally  a  crowd, 
whether  some  are  added,  or  some  are  taken  away  from 
it,  but  a  man's  body  is  imperfect  if  it  loses  certain 
limbs,  and  the  limbs  have  no  life  when  severed  from 
the  body.  A  field  is  made  by  throwing  smaller  fields 
together,  but  a  tree  must  have  that  gradual  develop- 
ment which  can  bring  forth  strength  and  shape  out  of 
the  constituent  rudiments  of  its  nature.  The  reason  is, 
that  there  lies  hid  in  it  a  secret  principle  of  connexion, 
which  we  call  its  life,  on  the  endurance  whereof  its 
growth  is  dependent.  It  may  have  dead  branches 
indeed,  which  need  to  be  cut  out  and  burned.  But  so 
long  as  this  principle  of  connection  lasts,  it  will  continue 
to  extend  itself.  What  this  secret  of  life  is,  we  can 
only  dscover  by  discerning  its  effect  in  the  living 
branches ;  there  is  no  severing  between  the  trunk  and 
them :  the  life  flourishes  in  them,  and  they  flourish 
through  its  influence )  the  law  of  their  growth  is  the 
uniting  principle  of  all  organized  bodies. 

Now  such  a  principle,  this  parable  declares,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  the  Gospel  kingdom. 
It  is  not  a  mere  heap  of  difierent  men,  or  [difierent 
societies — there  is  in  it  such  oneness  as  comes  from  the 
presence  of  a  common  life ;  and  that  life  acting  through 
its  difierent  parts,  and  quickening  its  various  members. 
Such  is  the  lesson  which  the  Holy  Ghost  deemed 
material  enough  to  be  set  forth  by  the  last  oracle  of 
inspired  Scripture. 


CHURCH  UXION. 


223 


Let  us  turn  then  to  the  history  of  God's  will.  How 
was  it  that  He  dealt  with  men  in  early  times  ?  We 
find  nothing  of  this  sort  existing  among  the  patriarchs. 
Their  religion  was  the  solitary  worship  of  unconnected 
hearths,  if  not  of  separate  individuals.  There  must 
always  be  personal  religion;  but  among  them,  as 
among  those  at  present  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
fulness  and  freedom  of  the  Gospel,  there  was  nothing 
else  than  personal  religion.  At  length  came  the  Jewish 
Covenant.  This  bound  men,  no  doubt,  in  a  national 
union ;  but  it  was  a  gift  only  to  a  single  people,  and  it 
de23ended  only  on  carnal  ordinances.  Something  was 
wanting,  which  might  at  once  be  as  wide  as  the  family 
of  man,  and  might  contain  in  it  such  a  living  princi|)le, 
that  all  the  better  part  of  man's  nature  might  be 
quickened  by  it  into  growth. 

Where  was  this  principle  to  be  found  ?  In  God  only 
is  life.  From  Him  it  first  proceeded,  and  He  only  can 
give  it  back  when  it  has  been  lost.  "  Every  good  gift 
and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above."  Now  it  might 
have  jDleased  Him  to  bestow  His  gifts  separately  upon 
mankind,  through  the  private  intercommunion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  with  the  individual  spirits  of  men.  This 
appears  to  have  been  done  in  Patriarchal  times :  this 
may  be  done  for  what  we  know  at  present.  But  this 
was  not  what  it  pleased  the  wisdom  of  God  to  do  in  the 
promulgation  of  the  Gospel.  For  as  by  one  man 
entered  death,  by  one  came  also  justification.  For 
when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  it  j)leased  God  to 
send  forth  His  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.  The 
Church  of  Christ  began  with  the  Incarnation  of  the 


224 


CHURCH  UNION. 


Son  of  God.  The  race  of  man  was  lost.  His  stock 
was  hopelessly  corrupted.  Therefore  did  God  bestow 
upon  human  nature  a  new  life,  when  Deity  took  up  its 
dwelling  in  it ;  that  through  the  efficacy  of  that  sancti- 
fied humanity,  the  principle  of  holiness  might  spread 
as  freely  as  the  leprosy  of  sin.  When  St.  John,  there- 
fore, describes  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  he  says, 
that  the  true  light,  which  lighteth  every  man,  i.  e.  the 
Word  or  Wisdom  of  God,  was  coming  into  the  world. 
"  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us." 
This  was  the  mystery  of  Our  blessed  Lord's  taking  that 
manhood,  which  He  joined  to  His  Deity,  never  again  to 
be  divided.  And  with  it  He  first  wrought  that  satis- 
faction on  the  cross,  in  which  His  humanity  supplied 
the  victim  which  was  ofiered  for  our  sins.  For  "  we  see 
Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for 
the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour ; 
that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for 
every  man." 

Nor  yet  was  this  all  His  work.  "  He  not  only  died 
for  our  sins,  but  rose  again  for  our  justification."  This 
risen  humanity  of  the  Son  of  God  became  the  source  of 
all  holiness  and  enlightenment  for  all  His  brethren. 
Whatsoever  he  gained,  He  gained  for  their  sakes,  that 
the  holiness  which  had  been  so  perfectly  enshrined  in 
the  temple  of  His  human  body,  might  flow  from  Him, 
as  from  a  living  source,  into  all  who  were  united  to 
Him.  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  should 
all  fulness  dwell.  And  having  made  peace  by  the 
blood  of  His  cross,  by  Him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto 
Himself"  And  therefore,  says  Our  Lord,  speaking  of 
the  purification  of  His  human  nature  through  the  dis- 


CHURCH  UXIOX. 


225 


cipline  of  His  earthly  life,  "for  their  sakes  I  sanctify 
Myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth." 

Hence  it  is,  then,  that  all  Christians  are  described  as 
so  really  united  to  the  Son  of  God,  that  to  Him  and 
them  one  common  name  is  applicable.  The  truth,  in- 
deed, of  each  man's  separate  existence,  is  asserted  by 
that  dotitrme  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  the 
judgment  to  come,  which  witnesses  that  we  shall  stand 
singly  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ  to  give  an  account 
of  our  deeds.  Would  God  that  we  remembered  this 
more  constant^.  "Would  God  that  we  felt  the  truth 
which  Scripture  declares,  that  all  shall  be  judged  be- 
fore men  and  angels  "  according  to  their  works."  But 
this  individual  responsibility,  this  single  consciousness, 
this  separate  Hfe  or  death  of  our  soul,  is  not  inconsistent 
with  our  having  a  place  in  that  great  family  of  God's 
elect,  which  we  call  the  Church  of  the  Eedeemed.  Now 
this  place  we  have  through  our  union  with  the  human 
nature  of  the  Second  Adam,  just  as  our  place  in  God's 
natural  creation  is  through  union  with  the  first.  And 
by  reason  of  the  reality  of  this  union  does  Christ  speak 
of  all  Christians  as  one  in  Himself,  and  St.  Paul  de- 
clares that  the  promises  which  were  made  to  Abra- 
ham's spiritual  progeny  were  in  truth  fulfilled  in  Christ. 
"To  Abraham  and  his  seed  were  the  promises  made. 
He  saith  not,  and  to  seeds  as  of  many,  but  as  of  one, 
and  to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ."  Thus  closely  is 
Christ  Our  Lord  identified  with  His  people.  For  "we 
are  members  of  His  body,"  says  St.  Paul,  "of  His  flesh, 
and  of  His  bones.  This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak 
concerning  Christ  and  concerning  the  Church."  Our 


226 


CHURCH  UNION. 


Lord's  liumanity,  indeed,  has  its  place  in  heaven,  where 
it  ^^ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us;"  "but 
through  that  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  first  bestowed 
at  Pentecost,  and  still  acting  through  all  the  ordinances 
of  the  Church  of  God,  its  spiritual  presence  is  more  near 
and  real  than  are  the  material  objects  of  this  visible 
world. 

Therefore  does  our  Church  witness  that  Christ  is  pre- 
sent with  us  "  after  an  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner." 
This  is  what  He  Himself  sets  forth  as  the  peculiar  con- 
sequence of  His  Ascension.  "  What  and  if  ye  shall  see 
the  Son  of  God  ascend  up  where  He  was  before.  It  is 
the  spirit  that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing." 
By  virtue  of  His  place  in  heaven,  and  of  that  divine 
influence  which  He  there  exercises  through  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  does  He  bestow  upon  men  that  re- 
ality of  union,  whereby  they  are  engrafted  into  Him- 
self. When  He  took  leave  of  this  lower  and  visible 
state,  "I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,"  were  His 
words,  "  I  will  come  unto  you."  For  "  lo,  I  am  with 
you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."  And  there- 
fore would  the  Holy  Ghost  "  instruct  the  world  in  right- 
eousness," "  because  I  go  to  My  Father,"  and  according 
to  the  flesh  ye  see  Me  no  more.  So  real  is  the  union 
of  Christians  with  Christ  their  head — thus  is  it  a  truth 
and  no  figure,  that  He  sufiers  in  His  members  upon 
earth,  that  in  their  trials  He  is  persecuted,  that  their 
life  is  hid  in  Him,  that  He  makes  His  abode  in  them, 
that  He  "  is  the  head  over  all  things  to  His  Church, 
which  is  His  Body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all 
in  all." 

And  hence  arises  that  truth  of  the  oneness  of  Christ's 


CHURCH  rxiox. 


227 


Churchy  which  we  declare  to  be  a  fundamental  doctrine 
of  the  Christian  revelation  by  repeating  it  in  the  Creed. 

"  I  believe  in  one  Catholic  and  AjDostolic  Church." 
This  oneness  is  not  a  mere  technic al^  artificial  contriv- 
ance suggested  by  the  advantages  of  order  and  the 
blessings  of  concord^  it  does  not  result  from  such  acci- 
dental arrangements  as  lead  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
to  obey  a  single  sceptre,  or  the  European  nations  to  use 
common  letters,  it  flows  of  necessity  from  the  nature  of 
that  union  which  we  have  together  in  the  Church.  Our 
union  is  because  we  are  members  of  that  body  of  Christ 
which  is  common  to  us  all.  Had  there  been  many 
Adams,  the  famihes  of  men  had  been  unrelated  and 
distinct.  But  now  hath  God  ^-  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  the  earth."  Therefore  that  wonderful  ac- 
cordance and  sympathy  which  unites  East  and  West  in 
a  common  bond.  And  so  is  it  with  the  higher  nature 
of  those  who  are  born  into  the  Church  of  Christ.  Eor 
it  was  His  mission  "  to  gather  together  in  one  the  child- 
ren of  God  which  were  scattered  abroad." 

In  this  fact,  therefore,  we  have  an  exact  fulfilment 
of  the  parable  before  us.  The  parable  indeed  has  been 
delivered  to  us  as  the  most  striking  statement  of  the 
actual  truth.  Christ's  servants  are  bound  together  by 
a  real  princij)le  of  life.  This  life  results  from  the  in- 
fluence of  that  human  nature  which  he  took  for  our 
sakes.  Though  He  has  ascended  on  high,  yet  is  He 
truly  with  us  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is 
Hke  the  sun  in  heaven,  which  retains  its  place  in  the 
firmament,  and  yet  is  present  on  earth  through  the 
eflSuence  of  its  beams.  Not  that  Christ's  Sacramental 
presence  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  those  ordinary  laws, 


228 


CHURCH  UNION. 


which  explain  the  force  and  operation  of  distant  bodies 
— that  it  is  a  mere  emanation  from  some  material 
source :  the  supernatural  oneness,  which  He  bestows 
upon  His  people,  is  a  real  mean  whereby  loliole  Christ 
gives  Himself  to  men.  Thus  is  the  Father's  power 
present  among  us.  He  seeks  to  reconcile  all  men  to 
Himself  through  the  §on  of  His  love.  God's  kingdom 
is  in  truth  set  up  among  men.  That  which  Daniel  dis- 
cerned is  come  to  pass.  What  Joel  spoke  of  is 
accomplished.  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days/' 
saith  God,  "  that  I  will  pour  out  of  My  spirit  upon  all 
flesh."  This  is  the  mystery  of  the  Christian  covenant. 
Here  is  the  fulness  and  freedom  of  the  Gospel.  It  is 
bound  no  longer  to  tribe  or  lineage,  to  profession  or 
speech ;  it  is  no  more  dispensed  by  favoured  selection 
to  individual  worshippers  or  single  households ;  the  Sun 
of  Kighteousness  hath  arisen  with  healing  in  His 
wings ;  the  grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  to 
all  men  hath  appeared ;  God  commandeth  all  men  every 
where  to  repent ;  His  temple  doors  stand  open ;  all  may 
come  in  and  worship ;  we  have  boldness  to  enter  into 
the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living 
way,  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us  through  the 
veil,  that  is  to  say  His  flesh. 

And  now  to  turn  shortly  to  the  practical  results  of 
this  wonderful  truth.  We  see  in  it  as  well  the  sacred- 
ness,  as  the  necessity  of  Gospel  ordinances.  They  are 
not  a  mere  dead  framework,  a  technical  system  of  arti- 
ficial helps,  which  may  be  cleared  away  like  rubbish  so 
soon  as  their  work  is  done.  This  was  true,  indeed,  of 
the  Jewish  system,  though  it  had  been  appointed  by 
God  Himself,  but  God  forbid  that  the  ministration  of 


CHURCH  UXIOX. 


229 


death  should  be  compared  to  the  ministration  of  the 
Spirit.  When  we  sj^eak  of  Christian  ordinances^  we 
may  use  St.  Paul's  words,  for  we  are  not  ashamed  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ/'  because  to  every  one  that  believ- 
eth,  it  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  By 
reason  of  this  power,  is  there  a  true  influence  in  public 
worship,  in  Sacraments  a  true  presence  of  Christ,  His 
human  nature  becomes  the  real  source  ef  grace  to  all 
His  brethren,  for  His  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  His 
blood  is  drink  indeed.  And  this  should  especiallj'  im- 
press upon  us  the  sacredness  of  our  Christian  calling. 
What  kind  of  life  is  to  be  required  of  those  who  are 
truly  members  of  the  Lord's  Body  ?  How  well  does 
our  Catechism  direct  the  first  lis23ings  of  the  infant 
tongue,  heartily  to  "thank  our  heavenlj^  Father,"  for 
havhig  by  Baptism  "  called  us  to  this  state  of  salva- 
tion," and  to  pray  God  to  give  us  His  grace  that  we 
may  "  continue  in  the  same  unto  our  life's  end.  Now 
the  sort  of  life  which  maj'  be  exj)ected  of  Christians, 
dejDends  on  the  nature  of  that  union,  by  which  they  are 
engrafted  into  Christ.  What  the}'  want  is  not  the  bare 
performance  of  certain  duties — an  ordinary  routine  of 
harmless  existence — they  are  engrafted  into  Christ,  and 
as  He  is,  so  are  they  in  this  world.  The  low  notion 
which  many  entertain  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Christian 
covenant  ranges  well  enough  with  their  low  standard 
of  Christian  obedience.  Love  cannot  flourish  without 
faith;  great  gifts  will  be  the  natural  ground  of  great 
watchfulness.  This  is  what  the  Apostle  sets  forth  as 
the  especial  motive  to  Christian  purity.  Shall  I  take 
the  members  of  Christ,  and  make  them  the  members  of 
an  harlot?    God  forbid."    And  this  principle  we  may 


230 


CHURCH  UNION. 


apply  to  all  the  graces  of  the  Christian  character,  which 
will  be  produced  only  through  that  influence  of  God's 
Spirit,  by  Avhich  Christ  Our  Lord  works  mightily 
through  all  His  living  members.  For  "every  branch 
in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  He  taketh  away;  and 
every  branch  that  beareth  fruit,  He  purgeth  it,  that  it 
may  bring  forth  more  fruit." 

There  can  be  no  vigour  without  life,  nor  life  without 
growth,  nor  growth  unless  we  discern  our  participation 
in  Christ  Our  Lord.  His  strength  must  be  ours ;  our 
life  hid  in  Him  :  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  and  when 
thou  art  converted  strengthen  thy  brethren." 


SERMON  XXL 


THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP. 


Hebrews  x.  19. 

Having  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  hy  the  hlood  of  Jesus. 

The  restoration  of  the  privilege  of  worship  was  one 
main  part  of  that  re-creation  of  mankind^  which  was 
effected  in  Christ.  For  man  had  been  created  to  be  the 
High  Priest  of  this  visible  world.  Heaven  and  earth 
are  for  ever  rendering  service  to  God.  Their  order^ 
beauty,  and  magnificence,  reflect  their  Maker's  glory. 
But  it  remained  for  man  to  interpret  the  unconscious 
homage  of  these  silent  worshippers.  How  strikingly 
was  this  task  performed  by  the  Psalmist !  "  Praise  the 
Lord  upon  earth  ye  dragons  and  all  deeps :  fire  and 
hail,  snow  and  vapour,  wind  and  storm,  fulfilling  His 
word.  Mountains  and  all  hills,  fruitful  trees  and  all 
cedars:  beasts  and  all  cattle,  worms  and  feathered 
fowls."  Thus  was  all  creation  called  on  to  co-operate 
Avith  that  heir  and  ruler  of  the  world,  who  is  emphati- 
cally called  "  the  creature"  in  Holy  Writ,  as  having 
been  put  in  authority  over  its  other  inhabitants. 

Such  was  the  rehgion  of  nature,  while  the  two  earhest 
representatives  of  the  human  race  performed  their  ap- 


232  THE  PRIYILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 

pointed  functions;  and  offered  up  "themselves,  their 
souls  and  bodies,  a  Hving  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God,  which  was  their  reasonable  service."  But  this 
exalted  office  was  forfeited  by  the  fall.  For  when  the 
high  priest  of  nature  abandoned  his  duty,  he  renounced 
his  rights.  He  became  conscious  at  once  of  his  degra- 
dation. "  That  God  heareth  not  sinners,"  is  written  on 
man's  conscience  as  with  a  pen  of  fire.  For  "  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  wicked  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord." 
Therefore  did  the  heir  of  creation  hide  himself  from  his 
Maker's  sight.  He  had  been  made  a  little  lower  than 
the  angels,  that  he  might  hold  immediate  intercourse 
with  the  Being,  in  whose  likeness  he  had  been  formed ; 
but  now  he  betook  himself  to  the  dark  covert  of  the 
forest,  like  the  beasts.  That  his  ancient  privilege  might 
be  restored,  it  was  necessary  that  his  ancient  nature 
should  be  revived ;  that  he  should  be  renewed  in  know- 
ledge after  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him.  We 
have  "  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  through  the 
blood  of  Jesus." 

Two  points,  then,  shall  be  set  before  you  :  first,  by 
what  means  was  this  privilege  regained  for  collective 
humanity :  secondly,  how  does  each  individual  secure 
his  single  share  in  the  common  exaltation. 

I.  The  privilege  of  worship,  which  was  lost  in  Adam, 
was  given  back  in  Christ.  His  taking  our  nature  was 
that  second  birth  whereby  humanity  was  re-formed; 
He  became  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God."  Be- 
cause the  natural  man  had  lost  his  right  to  draw  near 
to  God,  it  was  given  back  for  the  benefit  of  the  collective 
universe  through  that  man  who  was  above  nature. 
Through  Him  were  allayed  those  groans  and  pangs  with 


THE  PRIYILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED.  233 

which  the  whole  creation  had  travailed.  Therefore 
when  angels  announced  His  approach,  it  was  to  secure 
"  glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will towards  men."  Both  these  objects  were  accom- 
plished when  God  could  once  more  receive  pure  worship 
from  the  representative  of  His  creatures.  Once  more 
could  the  Highest  look  with  satisfaction  into  this  lower 
world  and  say,  "  this  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased." 

Now,  as  this  right  was  regained  when  the  manhood 
was  taken  into  God,  so  the  whole  course  of  Our  Lord's 
doings.  His  Hfe,  death,  and  perpetual  advocacy,  supply 
the  means  of  its  exercise.  The  heir  of  man's  nature — 
in  His  pilgrimage  through  this  lower  world,  He  offered 
to  God  that  perfect  obedience  w^hich  is  due  from  the 
creature  to  the  Creator.  Since  God  is  the  fountain  of 
excellence,  the  first  condition  of  rendering  to  Him  per- 
fect service  is  to  be  like  Himself  It  was  the  very 
crime,  therefore,  of  the  heathen  that  they  did  not  like 
to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge.  By  whom  then  could 
this  service  be  adequately  rendered,  but  by  Him  who 
was  at  once  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  and  "  the 
first-born  of  every  creature?"  Such  was  Our  Lord's 
declaration  of  His  earthly  course,  when,  as  the  Church's 
Head,  He  addressed  Himself  to  the  Father :  "  I  have 
glorified  Thee  on  earth,  I  have  finished  the  work  which 
Thou  gavest  Me  to  do."  And  then  followed  that  signal 
act  of  obedience,  wherein  "  He  gave  His  life  a  ransom 
instead  of  many."  For  this,  too,  w^as  the  voluntary 
performance  of  that  office,  for  the  sake  whereof  He  had 
been  "  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels."    "  No  man 

taketh  My  life  from  Me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  Myself : 

16 


234  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 

I  have  power  to  lay  it  dowii^  and  I  have  power  to  take 
it  again."  And  when  this  work  of  advocacy  had  been 
completed  on  earth,  its  further  course  and  full  consum- 
mation was  transferred  to  heaven.  For  He  did  not  lay 
aside  the  trappings  of  humanity,  nor  relinquish  that 
participation,  which  He  had  vouchsafed  to  man's  nature. 
As  in  Him  it  had  been  pure  from  sin,  from  the  first 
moment  that  He  had  borne  it ;  so  had  He  perfected  it, 
that  it  might  endure  that  exaltation,  to  which  it  was 
admitted.  His  lower  nature  had  been  "  crowned  through 
the  suffering  of  death  with  glory  and  honour."  There- 
fore did  He  entreat  that  exaltation  for  it  as  a  gift,  which 
His  higher  being  participated  by  nature.  "  Now,  0  Fa- 
ther, glorify  Me  with  Thine  own  self,  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was." 

Thus  is  humanity  at  large  admitted,  in  the  person  of 
its  great  High  Priest,  into  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  Creator.  God  "  hath  raised  us  ujo  together,  and 
made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus." 
For  His  advocacy  for  our  race  is  not  abandoned,  but 
exalted.  He  is  still  the  "  Lamb  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world."  The  Son  of  Man  "  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us."  It  was  not  that  He  gained 
us  re-admission  by  the  sacrifice  of  His  life,  and  then  left 
us,  as  of  old,  to  render  service  to  God  through  our  indi- 
vidual excellence ;  He  who  took  our  nature  still  bears 
it ;  in  Him  alone  is  our  approach  to  the  Father ;  our 
acceptance  is  as  members  of  Him;  He  continues  to  be 
"'  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His 
Body,  the  fullness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  If  the 
privilege  of  worship  be  restored,  and  humanity  as  of 
old  has  access  to  God,  it  is  that  "  this  man,  because  He 


THE  PUmLEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED.  235 

continuetli  ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood." 
For  He  has  offered  "  one  perpetual  sacrifice  for  sins." 
In  this  wise,  then,  has  access  to  the  Creator  been  given 
back,  and  man  has  again  become  High  Priest  in  behalf 
of  the  universe  of  God.  The  privilege  has  been  restored 
in  the  Second  Adam,  which  was  forfeited  in  the  first. 
For  His  advocacy  for  mankind  still  continues :  the  sea- 
son of  its  humiliation  is  past,  but  its  validity  remains. 

II.  But  how  does  each  man  participate  in  the  right, 
to  which  humanity  at  large  has  thus  been  re-admitted  ? 
How  does  every  one  share  in  that  privilege  of  worship, 
which  was  regained  for  mankind  by  the  true  Heir  of 
the  race  ?  Only  through  that  "  Head  over  all  things 
to  the  Church,"  who  "  is  the  Saviour  of  the  Body."  "  In 
Christ  Jesus,  ye  who  sometimes  were  far  off  are  made 
nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ."  "  Through  Him  we  have 
access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father."  But  if  this  be 
so,  what  was  the  condition  of  men  who  lived  before  the 
Son  of  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  ?  Was  prayer  for 
them  a  prohibited  service  ?  Was  there  no  permission 
to  draw  near  to  God?  How  could  there  be  such  per- 
mission save  through  the  advocacy  of  Christ ?  "I  am 
the  door,  by  Me  if  any  man  enter  in  he  shall  be  saved." 
And  again,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  :  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me."  It  was  a  gene- 
ral truth,  surely,  which  St.  Peter  set  forth,  when  he 
declared  that  "  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  It  re- 
sulted from  that  state  of  alienation  into  which  mankind 
had  fallen,  and  from  the  absolute  necessity  that  grace 
should  be  bestowed  from  without  for  their  recovery. 

For  who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ? 


236  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 


Not  one."  Therefore  God  commended  His  love  to  us, 
in  that  when  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us." 
The  race  of  man  was  spiritually  dead,  and  that  life 
should  flow  into  it  was  essential  to  its  revival.  But  this 
blessing  was  not  absolutely  withheld  during  those  long 
years  of  preparation,  while  as  yet  it  was  not  fully  mani- 
fest. In  the  world  of  grace  as  in  that  of  nature  it  was 
first  twilight  and  then  dawn,  before  the  Sun  of  Righte- 
ousness shone  forth  in  His  glory.  But  only  through 
Christ,  as  He  was  manifest  in  hope  and  promise,  could 
the  prayers  of  men,  even  in  that  age,  be  accepted.  There 
was  no  other  mean  of  drawing  near  to  God.  Holy  men 
looked  to  that  victory  which  should  be  gained  by  the 
expected  seed  of  the  woman,  when  they  exclaimed  with 
dying  Jacob,  "  I  have  waited  for  Thy  Salvation,  0 
Lord."  "  I  do  not  look  forward  to  the  redemption  by 
Sampson  or  Gideon,"  so  are  the  words  paraphrased  by 
an  ancient  Jewish  Targum,  "  but  to  the  redemption 
through  Thy  Word.''  ~ 
And  this  hope  had  been  bestowed  upon  the  family  of 
man,  so  ^soon  as  the  privilege  of  nature  had  been  for- 
feited. One  moment  indeed  there  was,  in  which  it 
seemed  that  man's  race  was  altogether  lost,  in  which 
Satan's  object  seemed  to  be  consummated,  in  which  there 
seemed  to  be  a  failure  in  God's  purpose  of  mercy — the 
interval,  namely,  between  man's  fall  and  the  promise  of 
his  regeneration.  For  during  that  interval  man  was 
like  the  fallen  angels  themselves,  without  right  or  title 
to  draw  near  to  the  God  whom  he  had  offended.  There 
was  none  to  speak  on  his  behalf,  for  he  who  had  fallen 
was  himself  the  High  Priest  of  nature,  whose  office  was 
to  draw  near  to  God  as  the  head  of  creation.  From 


THE  PRmLEGE  OF  TTORSHIP  RESTORED.  237 

what  quarter,  therefore,  could  he  look  for  help,  since 
the  universe  around  him  had  participated  in  the  ruin, 
which  himself  had  caused  ?  We  read,  therefore,  of  no 
prayer  from  man  to  God  in  that  gloomy  inter^^al.  Most 
like  it  was  to  another  awful  moment,  which  once  again 
will  shed  its  lurid  gloom  over  the  world,  that  moment 
which  will  be  lighted  up  with  the  flame  of  a  perishing 
universe,  when  the  day  of  grace  will  be  past,  and  the 
hour  of  Judgment  be  come.  As  the  day  of  grace  will 
then  be  over,  so  was  there  a  like  awful  interval  before 
it  began.  And  as  in  that  day  men  will  call  on  rocks 
and  mountains  to  hide  them,  because  the  day  of  grace 
is  past,  so  was  it,  likewise,  before  the  day  of  grace  ar- 
rived. Therefore  did  Adam  and  his  wife  hide  them- 
selves from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God  in  the  midst 
of  the  trees  of  the  garden. 

And  this  it  is  which  renders  probable  that  which 
Scripture  has  not  expressly  declared,  that  sacrifice  was 
not  a  human  contrivance,  but  a  divine  appointment.  If 
the  reaching  forth  towards  God  had  originated  on  the 
side  of  man,  to  offer  sacrifice  of  his  possessions  might 
have  been  suggested  by  the  feeling  of  his  own  mind. 
But  since  he  had  no  right  to  draw  near  to  God,  since 
that  road  of  intercourse  which  existed  by  nature  had 
been  closed  upon  him ;  since  it  was  only  through  God's 
mercy  in  Christ  that  the  door  was  re-opened,  and  that 
man  obtained  a  second  chance ;  therefore  the  mean  of 
approach  by  which  his  hope  and  devotion  was  expressed, 
could  hardly  have  been  adopted  except  by  his  Maker's 
sanction.  To  offer  sacrifices  was  to  express  a  hope 
through  Christ,  which  hope  was  only  built  upon  the 
promise.    Perhaps  in  the  acceptance  of  Abel's  offering, 


238  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 

while  that  of  Cain  was  rejected,  we  see  an  early  instance 
that  man  cannot  attain  to  God's  favour,  save  through 
participation  in  Christ.  This  Vfas  assuredly  the  lesson 
which  the  whole  J ewish  ritual  was  intended  to  teach. 
And  how  is  it  at  present,  now  that  Christ  our  Passover 
is  sacrificed  for  us,  now  that  His  advocacy  has  been 
exalted  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  that  He  has  achieved 
that  victory,  on  which  depends  our  salvation.  For 
"  Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy  places  made  with 
hands,  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God  for  us."  It  must  still  therefore  be  His 
effectual  intercession  for  mankind,  to  which  only  we 
trust.  Without  it  the  fallen  race  of  man  could  not  draw 
near  to  God.  If  our  prayers  are  to  be  effectual,  if  we 
are  allowed  to  offer  them,  if  our  services  are  pleasing, 
and  our  persons  accepted,  it  can  only  be  through  the 
continual  pleading  of  that  perfect  Intercessor,  in  whom 
was  restored  the  forfeited  privilege  of  nature. 

And  herein  lies  one  peculiar  value  of  those  holy 
mysteries  which  are  the  appointed  means  of  joining  us 
to  Christ.  These  ordinances  may  be  looked  at  on  the 
one  side  as  respects  their  sacramental  efficacy,  as  they 
are  the  means  whereby  divine  gifts  are  bestowed  by 
God.  But  they  possess  also  a  sacrificial  character,  be- 
cause in  them  we  participate  in  that  perpetual  offering 
of  Christ  Our  Lord,  through  which  the  privilege  of  wor- 
ship is  restored  to  the  creation.  For  what  is  meant  by 
individual  participation  in  Christ,  but  that  by  some 
mysterious  law  of  the  divine  economy,  His  members 
have  part  in  that  public  intercession,  which  the  true 
High  Priest  is  forever  discharging  for  the  whole  Church 
of  His  elect,  at  His  Father's  right  hand  ?    Unless  they 


THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED.  239 

are  found  in  Him,  unless  they  are  members  of  His 
Body,  how  can  they  participate  in  the  great  work,  by 
w^hich  their  ascended  Head  restores  the  forfeited  privi- 
leges of  humanity  ?  To  this  it  is  that  men  are  admitted 
by  baptism,  whereby  they  are  allowed  to  take  full  part 
in  that  worship,  from  which  even  the  children  of  Chris- 
tians are  by  nature  aliens;  and  therefore  does  the 
Apostle  rest  its  efficacy  on  "  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
who  is  gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  angels,  and  authorities,  and  powers,  being  made 
subject  unto  Him." 

And  as  men  are  first  admitted  to  this  exalted  service 
by  their  baptism,  so  is  it  a  peculiar  effect  of  the  Holy 
Communion  to  continue  and  maintain  it.  For  "as 
often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do 
show  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come."  Distinct,  then, 
from  its  sacramental  influence  as  a  means  of  grace,  is 
that  sacrificial  efficacy,  whereby  the  Holy  Eucharist  is 
our  mean  for  maintaining  the  privilege  of  worship.  It 
rests  upon  that  great  truth  of  our  ascended  Lord's  per- 
petual Intercession,  which  is  the  grand  charter  of  His 
Church.  "We  have  access  wdth  confidence  through 
the  faith  of  Him."  Now,  that  which  He  does  above 
in  the  one  heavenly  temple  gives  efficacy  to  the  ser- 
vices, whereby  through  the  ministry  of  His  earthly 
priests  He  is  exhibited  to  God.  What  they  offer  is  no 
fresh  Christ,  no  new  victim,  no  additional  sacrifice ;  "  by 
one  sacrifice  He  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are 
sanctified."  It  is  only  through  that  "  one  sacrifice  of 
Himself,  once  offered,"  that  their  service  is  effectual. 
And  since  when  he  had  offered  one  perpetual  sacrifice 
for  sins,  He  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  there- 


240  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 

fore  that  which  passes  in  the  heavenly  temple,  gives 
efficacy  to  the  service  of  our  earthly  altars.  This  it 
must  be  which  our  Church  intends,  when  she  censures 
those  sacrifices  of  masses,  in  which  she  understands  that 
some  new  victim  was  thought  to  be  created.  Whereas 
it  is  Christ  alone — the  one  perfect  Head  of  Adam's  race 
— Christ  who  has  ascended  into  heaven — who  is  even 
at  the  right  hand  of  God — whose  slain  humanity  is  the 
thing  of  value  in  the  Christian  sacrifice.  He  is  not  pre- 
sented, therefore,  below  as  a  fresh  victim,  but  by  His 
own  effectual  Priesthood  in  the  heaven  of  heavens. 
Though  the  earthly  ministration  be  a  real  sacrifice,  yet 
it  is  not  calculated  to  add  anything  to  the  value  of  His 
offering ;  it  is  only  the  means  whereby  the  work  is  par- 
ticipated. Ever  since  it  was  transferred  from  these 
lower  courts  to  the  heavenly  temple,  it  has  been  the 
one  sole  sacrifice  of  value,  which  man's  race  could  pre- 
sent to  God ;  He  who  presents  it  is  the  true  High  Priest 
of  collective  humanity,  the  real  heir  of  man's  race,  who 
effects  that  end  for  which  Adam  was  created,  and  truly 
intercedes  on  behalf  of  the  universe  of  God.  Those  who 
minister  in  His  earthly  courts  cannot  add,  therefore,  to 
the  value  of  what  He  has  effected :  when  they  offer  the 
Christian  sacrifice,  the  sole  reason  why  that  which  they 
do  is  important,  is  because  by  their  act  men  participate 
in  that  work  of  intercession,  which  the  Great  High 
Priest  is  discharging  for  the  whole  Church  of  the  Elect; 
so  that  things  done  on  earth  are  one  with  those  which 
are  done  in  heaven. 

And  this  may  lead  us,  in  conclusion,  to  estimate  the 
real  evil  of  undervaluing  the  Church's  collective  sacri- 
fice; and  especially  its  crowning  act,  that  holy  Eucha- 


THE  PRmLEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 


241 


rist,  whereby  "  we  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He 
come."  The  main  error  of  all  such  neglect  is,  that  it 
throws  us  back  from  the  law  of  grace  to  the  law  of  na- 
ture. And  therefore  it  robs  us  of  that  true  mode  of 
access,  which  the  Priesthood  of  Christ  alone  secures. 
For  in  Him  alone  has  man  become  again  the  high  priest 
of  creation.  And  how,  then,  can  we  reclaim  our  for- 
feited inheritance,  save  by  maintaining  our  oneness 
with  that  Head,  through  whom  only  we  receive  it  ? 
That  Christians  may  pray  always,  and  everywhere,  is 
the  very  gift  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  them  as 
members  of  Christ.  But  this  right  of  access  has  been 
restored  only  in  Him,  in  whose  public  acts,  therefore, 
it  is  essential  that  they  should  participate.  "  Having 
an  High  Priest  over  the  house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near 
with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith ;  not  forsah^ 
iag  the  assemhling  of  ourselves  together T 

For  man's  lost  inheritance  has  not  simply  been  given 
back;  it  has  been  exchanged  in  truth  for  a  higher 
honour.  If  the  Gospel  had  but  restored  man's  birth- 
right, then  might  men  draw  near  to  God  when  they 
would  and  how,  and  one  mode  of  worship  were  as  avail- 
able as  another.  And  that  such  is  the  case,  is  an  opi- 
nion which  not  unreasonably  commends  itself  to  the 
natural  mind,  seeing  that  this  was  indeed  by  nature 
man's  access  to  God.  We  walk  forth,  men  say,  under 
the  vault  of  heaven,  and  how  can  we  pay  a  better  ser- 
vice to  Him,  to  whom  at  such  moments  we  seem  nearest 
in  thought?  Those  who  trust,  therefore,  to  natural 
reason,  suppose,  not  strangely,  that  thus  may  the  Crea- 
tor be  best  approached.  But  in  Christ  Our  Lord  has 
there  l^een  a  path  laid  open,  which  is  not  only  beside, 


242  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF  WORSHIP  RESTORED. 


but  above  nature.  He  has  Himself  taken  our  being/ 
that  in  Him  might  be  a  better  and  fuller  approach  to 
God.  This  is  that  "  new  and  living  way,  which  He 
hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say, 
His  flesh."  It  was  a  painful  path,  marked  with  the 
blood  of  Him  who  first  trod  it ;  its  first  steps  led  up 
the  hill  of  Calvary,  though  its  last  scaled  the  sky.  But 
now  is  it  a  path  of  peace,  and  joy,  and  holy  hope,  to 
all  who  in  true  faith  follow  the  steps  of  their  ascended 
Lord.  For  they  plead  His  perpetual  sacrifice,  they 
neither  need  nor  find  other  victim ;  "  by  one  sacrifice 
He  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified." 


SERMON  XXIL 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHKIST. 


I.  TiMOTHYj  ii.  5. 

There  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man 
'  Christ  Jesus." 

The  doctrine  of  a  Mediator  holds  a  leading  j^lace  in 
the  re-creation  of  mankind.  "For  if  by  one  man's 
offence  death  reigned  by  one ;  much  more  they  which 
receive  abundance  of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  righteous- 
ness, shall  reign  in  life  by  one  Jesus  Christ."  The 
meaning  plainly  of  this  doctrine  is,  that  under  the  Gos- 
pel covenant,  the  God-man,  Jesus  Christ  Our  Lord,  is 
the  sole  channel  throu^rh  which  God  and  Man  are 
brought  into  connexion.  Whatever  God  bestows  upon 
man,  w^hatever  man  offers  to  God,  passes  through  this 
medium. 

Such  a  system  was  not  unkno^^^l  under  the  Jewish 
covenant.  The  law  was  "ordained  by  angels  in  the 
hand  of  a  mediator."  The  people  said  unto  Moses, 
"  speak  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  hear :  but  let  not 
God  speak  with  us,  lest  we  die."  And  therefore  the 
promise  made  to  Moses  was,  that  thy  brother  "shall  be 
to  thee  instead  of  a  mouth,  and  thou  shalt  be  to  him 
instead  of  God."    Thus  m  God's  dealings  with  men  was 


244 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


Moses  a  mediator  between  Jehovah  and  the  children 
of  Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  as  respects  man  s  deal- 
ings with  God,  Aaron  was  their  appointed  mediator. 
For  he  "was  taken  from  among  men  in  things  pertain- 
ing to  God,  to  offer  both  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins." 
But  now  a  new  Mediator  has  been  substituted  both  for 
the  one  and  for  the  other.  "  There  is  one  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus."  Let  us 
consider  the  function  which  Our  Lord  has  mercifully 
undertaken  to  discharge,  and  then  how  He  executes  it. 

I.  To  be  the  middle  party,  through  whom  God  com- 
municates with  man,  and  man  with  his  Maker,  is  to  be 
at  once  the  channel  of  gifts,  and  the  medium  of  peti- 
tions. That  which  man  owes  to  God,  in  the  widest 
sense  of  which  the  term  is  capable,  is  service.  Praise, 
prayer,  offering,  sacrifice,  "  the  calves  of  our  lips,"  our 
hearts'  devotion — what  are  all  these  but  individual 
parts  of  that  general  surrender  of  himself  to  God,  which 
is  the  Christian's  habitual  purpose.  "  I  beseech  you, 
therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  pre- 
sent yourselves  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service."  But  these 
things  are  not  effectual  in  themselves :  they  avail  only 
through  the  intercession  of  that  new  Head  of  our  race, 
in  whom  all  His  true  members  are  accepted.  If  we 
draw  near,  it  is  because  we  have  "an  High  Priest  over 
the  house  of  God ;"  we  have  "  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  through  the  blood  of  Jesus ;  by  a  new  and  living 
way,  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the 
veil,  that  is  to  say.  His  flesh." 

But  this  head  shall  not  be  enlarged  upon,  because  it 
was  treated  in  the  last  sermon  :  let  us  look  to  the  other 


THE  MEDLiTIOX  OF  CHRIST.  245 

side  of  the  Mediator's  office ;  that  He  is  the  channel 
through  whom  gifts  are  bestowed  by  God  on  His  crea- 
tures. Now  this  is  plainly  implied^  when  we  say  that 
through  Christ  alone  are  God  and  man  brought  mto 
connexion.  The  common  mercies  of  nature — life,  health, 
preservation,  sustenance — are  of  course  bestowed  upon 
Christians  as  they  are  upon  others — they  come  from  the 
general  mercy  of  the  Creator;  but  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel — the  blessings  of  the  new  covenant — those  which 
concern  that  new  creation,  by  which  it  was  God's  pur- 
pose to  redress  the  evils  of  the  fall — these  are  not  be- 
stowed according  to  the  law  of  nature,  but  through  that 
system  of  Mediation,  which  has  been  substituted  in  its 
place.  So  that  the  functions  both  of  Aaron  and  of 
Moses  are  now  wholly  absorbed  in  the  Mediation  of 
Christ.  He  is  not  only  the  High  Priest  of  man's  na- 
ture, but  through  Him  alone  are  "  good  gifts"  bestowed 
upon  man.  The  gifts  of  grace,  the  great  gift  of  the 
Gospel,  come  through  Him  only  who  has  purchased 
them  by  His  blood. 

II.  And  now  then,  secondly,  how  does  Our  Lord  exe- 
cute this  office  ?  He  discharges  it  through  His  man's 
nature  :  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man  is  the  man 
Christ  Jesus.  Holy  Scripture  teaches  us  in  what  man- 
ner this  was  done.  When  man  lost  his  connexion  with 
God  through  the  fall,  when  his  participation  in  heavenly 
gifts  was  thus  dammed  up  and  obstructed — it  was  God's 
good  pleasure  to  restore  in  yet  larger  measure,  through 
the  new  Head  of  his  race,  those  gifts  which  had  been 
forfeited  in  the  old  one.  "  If  throuprh  the  offence  of  one 
many  be  dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
gift  by  grace,  which  is  by  one  man  Jesus  Christ,  hath 


246 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


abounded  unto  many."  Thus  did  the  Second  Adam 
become  the  fountain  of  grace,  from  which  the  collective 
seed  of  His  brethren  was  to  be  replenished.  In  His 
man's  nature  were  gathered  together  all  heavenly  gifts, 
that  from  that  great  deep  they  might  overflow  into  the 
whole  generation  of  His  kindred.  He  is  "  the  Head, 
from  which  all  the  body  by  joints  and  bands  has  nou- 
rishment ministered."  And  "  of  His  fullness  have  all 
we  received,  and  grace  for  grace."  For  "  we  are  mem- 
bers of  His  body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones." 

Now  it  was  the  very  principle  of  Our  Lord's  earthly 
course,  that  when  manhood  was  in  His  person  taken 
into  God,  it  was  endued  with  that  life-giving  power  by 
gift,  which  pertained  to  Deity  by  nature.  For  "it 
pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all  fullness  dwell. 
And  having  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  His  Cross,  by 
Him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  Himself."  Here  is  de- 
scribed the  process  of  man's  regeneration.  It  had  its 
origin  in  God's  love,  the  ultimate  source  of  all  spiritual 
recovery.  Its  further  course  was  the  sanctification  of 
the  humanity  of  the  Word,  through  personal  oneness 
with  Deity.  And  then  followed  the  communication  of 
the  same  gifts  from  the  Church's  Head  to  His  believing 
brethren.  For  God  "  hath  made  Him  Head  over  all 
things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His  Body,  the  fullness  of 
Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  One  part  of  this  work  is 
set  forth  in  the  Gospels,  where  grace,  which  is  God's 
love  in  action,  is  spoken  of  only  as  it  was  communicated 
to  that  man's  nature  of  the  Eternal  Son,  which  became 
its  earthly  receptacle.  "  The  child  grew  and  waxed 
strong  in  spirit,  filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of 
God  was  upon  Him."    Of  any  other  gift  of  grace  we 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


247 


hear  nothing  in  the  Gospels :  that  which  is  there  set 
forth  is,  how  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  But  when  this  part 
of  the  Gospel  mystery  had  been  completed,  and  the 
sanctified  humanity  of  the  Son  was  to  return  to  man- 
kind through  the  agency  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  we  read 
that  "  great  gTace  was  upon  them  all."  For  from  Him, 
as  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God,"  was  the  like 
gift  bestowed  upon  others.  As  "  the  first  man  Adam 
was  made  a  living  soul,  so  was  the  last  Adam  made  a 
quickening  spirit."  Thus  was  the  law  of  Mediation 
fulfilled ;  and  as  our  natural  life,  and  all  the  faculties 
of  earthly  being  were  transmitted  through  descent  from 
our  first  parent,  so  were  all  graces  of  the  Spirit,  and  the 
whole  blessed  seed  of  heavenly  gifts  bestowed  upon 
mankind,  through  inherence  in  the  second. 

And  now  let  us  pass  on  to  consider  some  of  the  efiects 
of  this  momentous  doctrine.  First,  it  shows  us  the 
reality  of  that  great  change,  which  has  been  wrought 
by  Christ  Our  Lord  in  the  condition  of  mankind.  For 
He  has  not  only  undertaken  the  office  of  Mediator,  but 
become  one.  The  work  of  redemption  was  a  real  work, 
by  which  all  the  relations  of  heaven  and  earth  were 
permanently  altered.  God  looks  otherwise  than  He  did 
on  man's  race,  and  man  is  othermse  circumstanced  than 
He  was  towards  God's  nature.  "  We  know,"  it  is  said, 
"  that  God  heareth  not  sinners,  but  if  any  man  be  a 
w  orshipper  of  God  and  doeth  His  will,  him  He  heareth." 
What  opening  had  there  been,  then,  for  man's  recovery, 
but  that  "  when  we  were  without  strength,  in  due  time 
Christ  died  for  the  ungodly."  Thus  does  man  become 
the  object  of  God's  approval ;  a  child  of  Adam  becomes 


248 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


that  well-beloved  Son  in  whom  God  is  well  pleased,  His 
brethren  share  that  honour  which  has  been  merited  by 
the  true  JosejDh,  their  filthy  garments  are  exchanged 
for  the  purity  of  His  spotless  apparel,  "  God  is  in  Christ, 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing  to  them 
tJieir  trespass&s!'  And  as  there  is  here  a  change  in  God's 
estimate  of  man,  so  is  there  a  real  alteration  in  man's 
nature.  For  this  nature  has  been  so  far  exalted  in  Him, 
as  to  be  already  made  capable  of  royal  honour.  Already 
has  God  "  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  J esus."  Already  are  men 
said  to  be  "  buried  with  Christ  in  Baptism,"  to  be  "  cru- 
cified with  Him,"  to  be  "risen  with  Christ,"  to  partake, 
that  is,  even  in  this  world  of  His  gifts  of  grace,  that  in 
the  next  they  may  be  prepared  to  partake  His  glory. 
All  these  things  flow  from  that  real  change,  whereby 
God  and  man  have  been  set  at  one  together.  The  man- 
hood of  Our  Lord,  as  ancient  Avriters  express  it,  is  the 
bridge  whereby  the  gulf  between  heaven  and  earth  has 
been  spanned  over.  Thus  have  men  become  comrades 
with  God's  higher  servants ;  the  true  J acob's  ladder  is 
set  up ;  and  "  the  angels  of  God  ascend  and  descend  on 
the  Son  of  Man."  All  this  follows  from  the  reality  of 
that  Mediation,  which  the  Son  of  God  did  not  refuse  to 
undertake.  He  did  not  merely  undertake  the  part  or 
discharge  the  functions  of  man,  but  became  one.  He 
truly  entered  into  the  line  of  Adam's  race,  that  He  might 
sanctify  humanity  in  Himself.  "  Because  the  children 
were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood.  He  also  Himself  took 
part  of  the  same."  "  When  He  cometh  into  the  world 
He  saith,  sacrifice  and  ofiering  Thou  wouldest  not,  but 
a  body  hast  Thou  prepared  Me."    And  we  share,  there- 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


249 


fore,  the  honour  which  has  been  conferred  on  Him,  in 
that  "  God  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and  given  Him  a 
name  that  is  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and 
things  on  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth." 

Again,  another  conclusion  to  which  this  subject  con- 
ducts us,  concerns  that  principle  of  faith,  which  is 
spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  the  cardinal  point  of  the  Chris- 
tian's duty.  Faith  is  defined,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, to  be  "  the  realizing  things  hoped  for,  the  put- 
ting to  the  proof  things  not  seen."  Christian  faith  « 
the  apphcation  of  this  principle  to  the  realities  of  the 
Gospel.  And  since  by  the  Gospel  is  meant  the  law  of 
Christ's  Mediation;  since  its  essential  feature  is  that 
what  was  lost  in  Adam,  is  given  back  through  Christ, 
therefore  its  crowning  characteristic  is,  that  it  involves 
a  personal  reliance  ;  it  is  a  belief  not  in  Christianity, 
but  in  Christ.  The  blessings  which  Christianity  has 
introduced  into  the  world  are  various  and  important. 
Its  moral  law  is  the  jDurest  which  has  ever  been  pro- 
claimed to  mankind.  It  first  taught  the  lesson  of  uni- 
versal philanthropy.  Its  views  of  man's  nature  are  deep 
and  comprehensive.  These  considerations  are  sufficient 
to  secure  the  admiration  of  reflecting  men ;  but  thej^ 
have  nothing  to  do  with  saving  faith  ;  for  they  are  a 
belief  not  in  Christ,  but  in  Christianity.  Saving  faith 
is  a  belief  in  Him,  whom  "  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a 
Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  unto  Israel, 
and  forgiveness  of  sins."  It  is  a  personal  affiance,  which 
realizes  those  acts  of  Christ  our  Lord,  whereby  He  me- 
diates between  man  and  the  Father. 

Now  it  is  not  to  our  present  purpose  to  consider  the 

17 


250 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


whole  nature  of  this  principle  of  faith^  to  observe  that 
it  implies  the  action  of  the  will  as  well  as  of  the  reason, 
and  is  only  genuine  when  it  works  by  love.  All  this 
follows  from  the  personal  nature  of  its  object :  it  is  be- 
lief in  Him  whom  we  are  to  imitate ;  and  it  springs 
therefore  from  that  implanted  principle  of  divine  grace, 
which  is  the  beginning  of  all  human  improvement. 
"  Eor  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not 
of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God."  But  our  present 
purpose  is  not  with  the  character  of  saving  faith,  but 
with  its  object.  It  is  faith  in  Christ.  It  is  belief  in 
His  Mediation.  It  is  to  accept  Him  as  the  only  meri- 
torious sacrifice  for  man's  transgressions.  It  is  to  be- 
lieve that  God  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  Him." 

But  the  work  of  Christ's  Meditation  was  not  com- 
pleted in  that  mighty  crisis  of  the  world's  destiny,  which 
closed  His  earthly  ministry.  That  which  was  "  finish- 
ed" on  the  cross  was  the  immolation  of  the  victim,  not 
its  efficacy.  He  who  took  our  nature  ever  liveth  in 
that  nature  to  make  intercession  for  us.  Would  we 
believe  then  in  the  Mediation  of  Christ,  we  must  see  in 
Him  our  continual  Advocate  with  the  Father.  Faith 
in  Christ  is  to  discern  that  no  prayers  can  ascend  under 
the  Gospel  covenant  from  man  to  God,  save  what  our 
Great  High  Priest  presents  upon  the  heavenly  altar.  To 
look  on  man's  ancient  privilege  of  prayer  as  given  back, 
to  suppose  that  we  could  approach  God  when  we  chose 
and  how,  independently  of  that  office  of  intercession 
which  the  Head  of  the  Church  is  for  ever  maintaining 
for  all  its  members,  would  be  to  renounce  dependence 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


251 


on  the  Mediation  of  Christ,  and  therefore  to  abandon 
that  saving  faith,  of  which  the  God-man  is  the  personal 
object.  Such  would  be  the  result  if  we  lost  sight  of 
that  peculiar  efficacy  which  belongs  to  the  Church's 
public  service,  and  forgot  that  our  inherence  in  Christ's 
body  was  the  very  condition  which  gave  virtue  to  our 
private  devotion. 

But  further,  as  faith  in  Christ's  mediation  is  to  trust 
in  His  sacrifice  as  the  sole  ground  of  pardon,  and  in 
His  Intercession  as  the  sole  mean  whereby  the  Father 
can  be  approached,  so  is  it  to  believe  that  through  Him 
alone  are  all  gifts  of  grace  bestowed  by  God  upon  His 
creatures.    As  saving  faith  must  mount  up  to  heaven 
in  its  hour  of  supplication,  and  discern  the  Son  of  Man 
standing  where  St.  Stephen  beheld  Him,  so  must  it 
realize  the  truth  that  all  gifts  of  grace  were  gathered 
together  m  His  man's  nature,  that  from  Plim  they  might 
issue,  as  from  an  unfailing  source,  for  the  salvation  of 
His  brethren.    This  is  that  smitten  Rock  which  was 
exhibited  in  type  to  the  sons  of  J acob,  that  from  its 
riven  side  might  flow  forth  the  imperishable  stream 
which  refreshes  the  true  Israel.    This  present  work, 
then,  of  His  man's  nature ;  its  present  influence  as  the 
fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanliness — saving 
faith  must  realize  and  discern.    And  what  is  it  to  dis- 
cern it  ?    It  is  to  perceive  and  confess  that  those  gifts 
of  grace  which  few  will  deny  to  be  necessary,  are  not 
only  bestowed  by  God,  are  not  only  to  be  asked  of 
Christ,  but  that  they  are  given  through  Our  Lord's 
Mediation,  through  the  intervention  of  that  nature 
which  He  took  that  He  might  be  one  with  us — that 
they  are  bestowed  through  the  manhood  of  the  Incar- 


252 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


nate  Son — that  this  is  the  channel  through  which  they 
are  communicated — that  as  through  Him  alone  we  can 
approach  God^  so  through  Him  alone  does  God  bestow 
Himself  upon  the  faithful. 

And  how  is  the  manhood  of  Christ  the  channel  for 
communicating  graces  ?  This  is  no  natural  process ;  it 
is  not  founded  on  that  law  of  man's  being,  whereby  his 
mind  is  like  an  open  door,  fitted  for  communicating 
wdth  other  spiritual  intelligences.  Our  means  of  com- 
municating wdth  Christ's  manhood  can  be  gathered  only 
from  God's  revealed  will.  And  here  two  main  occa- 
sions are  disclosed,  w^herein  the  sanctified  humanity  of 
the  Son  of  Man  is  communicated  to  His  brethren.  For 
"  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ," 
says  St.  Paul,  "  have  put  on  Christ."  And  again,  "  we 
are  buried  with  Him  by  Baptism  into  death,  that  like 
as  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of 
life."  This  is  the  first  step  in  that  spiritual  work, 
whereby  the  Blessed  Comforter  was  to  bring  Christ  back 
to  His  people.  "  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  ba|)tized 
into  one  body." 

And  as  baptism  is  declared  in  Holy  Writ  to  be  the 
commencement  of  this  union,  so  is  the  Lord's  Supper 
set  forth  as  the  occasion  wherein  it  is  increased  and 
strengthened.  "  We  being  many,  are  one  bread  and 
one  body,  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread." 
Its  very  purpose  is  to  supply  the  true  manna,  whereof 
the  food  of  earthly  Israel  was  but  a  sign — the  real  sus- 
tenance of  God's  spiritual  people  throughout  all  their 
wanderings  in  this  worldly  wilderness.  "  I  am  the  liv- 
ing bread,  which  came  down  from  heaven ;  if  any  man 


THE  MEDIATIOX  OF  CHRIST. 


253 


eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  Uve  for  ever;  and  the  bread 
which  I  will  give  is  My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the 
life  of  the  world."  It  belongs,  then,  to  saving  faith  to 
discern  this  side  likewise  of  Our  Lord's  Mediation,  to 
perceive  that  He  is  that  Second  Adam,  from  whom  are 
derived  the  blessings  of  grace,  as  from  our  first  parent 
proceed  the  gifts  of  nature.  To  speak  of  Christ  Our 
Lord  as  though  He  had  effected  His  work  upon  the 
cross,  in  order  that  we  might  afterwards  draw  near  of 
ourselves  to  God,  is  to  leave  out  of  account  that  inter- 
vention of  our  Great  Head,  which  is  not  less  necessary 
as  the  channel  of  grace  than  as  the  mean  of  supplica- 
tion. All  this,  of  course,  is  a  spiritual  and  not  a  mate- 
rial work.  His  humanity  is  not  communicated  like 
that  of  our  earthly  parent,  by  birth,  but  through  that 
divine  efficacy,  whereby. the  Holy  Ghost  renews  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  those  whom  He  inhabits.  But  it  is 
not  less  a  real  work,  whereby  the  whole  nature  of  man 
must  be  renewed  even  in  this  present  world,  even  as 
their  carnal  bodies  will  be  refashioned  on  the  day  of 
the  resurrection.  And  to  lose  sight  of  it,  would  be  so 
far  forth  to  overlook  the  reality  of  Our  Lord's  Media- 
tion, to  fail  to  discern  "  the  Lord's  Body,"  and  to  expect 
those  gifts  according  to  the  law  of  nature,  which  can 
only  be  found  according  to  the  law  of  grace.  And  this 
were  to  substitute  faith  in  Christianity  for  faith  in 
Christ. 

For  saving  faith  is  not  to  know  what  Our  Lord  has 
done  for  humanity,  to  recognize  the  excellence  of  His 
system  or  the  holiness  of  His  life.  It  is  not  the  cold 
assent  of  the  critical  spectator,  who  approves  the  wis- 
dom with  which  the  Gospel  is  designed,  and  admires 


254 


THE  MEDIATION  OF  CHRIST. 


its  appeals  to  the  sj^mpatliies  of  mankind.  The  Chris-- 
tian's  faith  is  that  which  lays  hold  on  Christ  as  his  Sa- 
viour, through  that  true  work  of  Mediation,  whereby 
the  law  of  grace  has  been  substituted  for  the  law  of  na- 
ture. It  looks  to  the  God-man  as  the  sole  sacrifice  for 
all  transgressions.  It  trusts  to  His  Intercession  as  the 
alone  mode  of  access  to  the  Father.  It  looks,  finally, 
to  Him,  as  having  centred  in  His  own  humanity  those 
gifts  of  grace,  which  are  the  unfailing  source  of  regene- 
ration to  mankind.  Those  heavenly  treasures  which 
the  Creator  may  in  the  first  instance  have  designed  to 
bestow  directly  and  individually  upon  men,  are  now 
given  only  through  the  humanity  of  that  Second  Adam, 
through  whom  alone  we  can  draw  near  to  God.  "  There 
is  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus."  Through  Him  alone  do  all  prayers  ascend  from 
man  to  God,  through  Him  are  all  spiritual  gifts  bestowed 
by  God  upon  His  creatures. 

All  this  must  true  faith  realize  and  accept.  It  must 
look  to  Christ  as  a  personal  Mediator,  and  from  His 
man's  nature  accept  the  gifts  which  shall  regenerate 
ours.  It  must  seek  to  discern  the  Lord's  Body.  It 
must  wait  upon  Him  in  the  ordinances  of  His  love, 
wdth  firm  persuasion  that  from  Him  there  issues  suffi- 
cient grace  for  the  salvation  of  a  world.  This  is  the 
effect  of  that  grace  of  faith,  of  which  the  practical  at- 
tainment is  so  main  a  part  of  our  Church's  continual 
teaching.  But  it  is  well  that  we  should  meditate  at 
times  on  the  principle  itself,  that  we  should  remember 
what  that  principle  implies,  from  which  flow  all  the 
practical  graces  of  the  Christian  character.  For  it  is 
no  idle  form  of  words,  no  heartless  principle  of  reason- 


THE  AIEDIATION  OF  CHRIST.  255 

ing,  nor  yet  any  mere  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  man- 
kind :  it  is  the  real  acceptance  of  a  living  gift :  the  gift 
of  Christ's  Mediation  and  the  renewal  of  man  by  God's 
grace. 


SERMON  XXIII. 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


1.  St.  John,  v.  19,  20. 

"  We  know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  wicked- 
ness. And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  hath  given 
us  an  understanding  J  that  we  may  know  Him  that  is  true :  and  we 
are  in  Him  that  is  true^  even  in  His'  Son  Jesus  Christ'' 

No  statements  of  Scripture  are  more  distinct  than 
those  which  testify,  that  without  divine  guidance  it  is 
impossible  to  understand  the  truths  of  the  GospeL 
"  The  anointing  which  we  have  received  of  Him  abideth 
in  yoUj  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you :  but 
as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and 
is  true,  and  is  no  lie."  Nor  is  this  saying  peculiar  to 
the  beloved  Apostle,  whose  meditative  disposition  might 
be  expected  to  dwell  on  the  original  and  intuitive  depths 
of  the  Gospel :  the  same  truth  is  witnessed  by  the  in- 
spired pupil  of  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  in  whom  the 
powers  of  illustration  and  argument  were  more  pre- 
dominant. He,  too,  tells  us  that  "  the  natural  man  re- 
ceive th  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God )  neither  can 
he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 
But  he  that  is  spiritual  judge  th  all  things,  yet  he  him- 
self is  judged  of  no  man." 


OLD  AXD  NEW  REASON.  257 

Now  to  this  truth  the  world  makes  great  objection. 
You  require  us,  it  is  said,  to  accept  men's  testimony 
because  they  are  spiritual,  when  we  have  no  proof  that 
they  are  spiritual  except  their  testimony.  If  there  were 
any  recognized,  ascertainable  criterion  of  the  spiritual 
mind,  we  should  readily  admit  its  dictates ;  but  those 
who  claim  its  possession  refuse  to  abide  by  any  tangible 
test  of  their  pretensions.  If  inward  consciousness  were 
any  proof  to  a  man's  self,  it  would  plainly  be  no  proof 
to  his  neighbors.  And  how  often  are  men  themselves 
deceived.  Our  Lord  tells  us  that  those  who  persecuted 
His  Church  would  think  they  did  "  God  service,"  and 
St.  Paul  witnesses  to  the  sincerity  with  which  he  be- 
lieved that  he  "  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to 
the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  The  same  thing  is 
proved  by  experience  ;  whether  we  look  to  the  common 
affairs  of  daily  life,  or  to  the  opinions  of  those  stronger 
thinkers,  whose  names  are  recorded  by  history.  How 
many  men  whose  aspect  and  demeanour  show  that  they 
enjoy  the  world  as  much  as  their  neighbours,  lay  claim 
to  a  spirituality  which  rests  only  on  their  own  profes- 
sions. Yet  whom  do  they  deceive  but  themselves  ? 
Though  spirituality  may  not  admit  of  any  positive  test, 
yet  there  is  sufiicient  negative  proof  for  the  condemna- 
tion of  such  claimants.  For  are  they  not  as  shrewd  in 
business  as  their  neighbours  ?  Are  they  less  indulgent 
to  themselves  than  other  men?  Does  not  the  self- 
complacency  of  their  countenances  show  that  they  have 
pampered  their  minds,  rather  than  chastised  their 
bodies  ?  Yet  such  men  claim  a  superiority  to  the  ordi- 
nary class  of  persons,  which  has  no  basis  except  in  their 
own  conceit.    And  what  has  time  witnessed  respecting 


258  OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 

those  bolder  claimantSj  who  have  gained  for  a  season 
the  confidence  of  their  fellows  ?  Have  not  the  private 
intimations  of  God  to  his  individual  spirit,  been  the 
plea  of  every  enthusiast  from  Montanus  to  Swedenborg? 
If  any  such  claims  avail,  why  are  the  pretensions  of 
these  men  to  be  rejected  ?  If  such  testimony  is  to  go 
for  anything,  it  must  in  its  very  nature  be  independent 
of  all  appeal,  because  it  professes  to  be  the  immediate 
voice  of  Him,  who  cannot  be  in  error.  So  that  Scrip- 
ture itself  would  be  superseded  by  such  an  interpreta- 
tion of  its  pages,  and  Our  Lord's  own  commission  would 
be  overthrown  by  those  who  thus  understand  Him. 

Such  is  the  tenor  of  the  common  argument :  and 
hence  it  is  concluded  that  the  Scriptural  appeals  to  a 
higher  principle  of  judgment,  are  not  to  be  taken  in 
their  plain  and  natural  sense ;  that  however  good  in 
theory,  they  afford  no  practical  guidance  in  the  conduct 
of  life. 

But  is  there  no  way,  then,  of  stating  this  doctrine, 
which  may  reconcile  the  assertions  of  Scripture  with 
the  experience  of  mankind  ?  Such  a  course  we  must 
seek  after ;  and  with  a  view  of  discovering  it,  let  us  in- 
quire on  what  ground  stands  the  authority  of  natural 
reason,  and  whether  it  may  not  be  assailed  by  the  same 
objections,  which  are  brought  against  that  higher  faculty 
of  judgment,  to  which  revelation  refers.  For  on  what 
do  we  rest  the  cogency  of  natural  reason  ?  Is  it  the 
acuteness  of  the  individual  who  employs  it  ?  It  is  by 
individuals  that  reason  must  be  exercised.  But  if  it  be 
held  responsible  for  all  the  errors  to  which  their  use  of 
it  may  give  birth,  the  old  reason  which  we  have  by  na- 
ture will  not  escape  better  than  that  new  reason  which 


OLD  AXD  NEW  EEASOX. 


259 


rests  on  Eevelation.  For  has  not  it  also  entangled  men 
in  contradictions  innumerable  ?  Was  not  the  delusion 
of  the  Alchymists  as  strange  as  that  of  the  Mormons  ? 
If  Swedenborg  be  an  example  of  the  uncertainty  of  in- 
spiration, is  not  Mesmer  a  warning  of  the  weakness  of 
reason  ?  So  that  if  contradictions  show  the  inutility  of 
every  principle,  against  which  they  may  be  alleged,  this 
natural  faculty  likewise  must  be  relinquished  as  useless ; 
and  we  should  prove  by  argument,  that  by  argument 
nothing  can  be  proved.  Now  since  the  mind  revolts 
from  such  universal  scepticism,  let  us  consider  what 
safeguards  may  be  found  in  the  case  of  natural  reason, 
and  whether  a  corresponding  principle  may  not  guide 
us  in  that  higher  sphere,  which  is  the  object  of  our 
search.  Neglect  such  cautions,  and  we  cannot  trust 
even  to  the  old  reason  of  man :  employ  them,  and  we 
shall  not  be  involved  in  contradictions  by  the  new  rea- 
son of  the  Gospel. 

Now  what  gives  its  security  to  natural  reason  ?  Its 
safeguard  is  that  common  sense,  which  corrects  the 
aberrations  of  individual  eccentricity.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain limited  field,  indeed,  in  which  men  may  employ 
such  logical  deduction  and  scientific  accuracy,  as  may 
guarantee  the  relations  between  their  premises  and  their 
results.  But  the  great  mass  of  human  affairs  does  not 
admit  of  being  adjusted  with  so  much  accuracy.  And 
in  respect  of  them,  there  prevails  a  certain  average,  pre- 
dominant conviction,  whereby  those  false  judgments, 
which  would  otherwise  find  currency  even  in  worldly 
matters,  are  removed  and  exploded.  This  is  called 
common  sense,  not  by  reason  of  its  homely  humble  char 
racter,  but  rather  in  testimony  of  its  higher  origin,  as 


260 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


something  truly  connatural  to  mankind  at  large,  and  as 
grounded  in  the  primeval  constitution  of  his  general 
nature.  For  whence  does  this  judgment  arise  ?  How 
comes  it  to  be  superior  to  the  wisdom  of  individuals  ? 
Why  do  the  keenest  and  most  searching  intellects  ac- 
knowledge its  control  ?  Why  do  those  who  are  most 
distinguished  from  their  brethren  by  the  powers  of  analy- 
sis and  reflection- — who  have  deeply  scrutinized  the 
secrets  of  their  own  minds — ever  recognise  the  common 
conviction  of  their  race  as  a  fixed  foundation,  on  which 
to  build  their  judgments  ?  Why  is  common  consent 
the  basis  of  the  profoundest  ethical  philosophy?  This, 
surely,  is  to  recognize  something  sacred  in  the  consenti- 
ent judgment  of  mankind.  Yet  on  what  is  its  sanctity 
dependent  ?  How  can  the  voice  of  the  people  be  the 
voice  of  God  ?    For  men  do  not  make  truth,  but  find  it. 

Those  original  relations,  which  lie  in  the  nature  of 
things,  are  independent  of  their  judgments.  Neither 
may  reason,  like  the  physical  constituents  of  the  earth, 
be  increased  by  material  aggregation.  Add  up  the  col- 
lected faculties  of  a  whole  tribe  of  animals,  and  they 
would  not  make  that  of  a  man.  The  one  could  not  be 
formed  out  of  the  other  by  any  system  of  multijDlication. 
There  is  a  difference  in  kind,  which  could  not  be  com- 
pensated by  the  addition  of  parts.  And  so  is  it  with 
mankind.  The  value  of  its  decision  does  not  lie  in  the 
concurrence  of  many  wills.  What  we  seek  after  is  the 
voice  of  humanity  itself ;  the  collective  sentiments  of 
the  race ;  that  which  makes  itself  felt,  whether  men  will 
or  no,  amidst  the  caprices  of  individuals ;  that  which 
underlies  all  single  judgments,  and  supplies  the  antece- 
dent basis,  which  they  are  compelled  to  acknowledge. 


OLD  AXD  NETT  REASON. 


261 


This  judgment  is  valuable,  because  in  truth  it  is  the  judg- 
ment of  man's  Maker,  the  impress  which  has  been  left 
upon  our  common  being  by  its  original  Author ;  and  we 
share  in  it,  because  we  are  each  the  offspring  of  him  that 
was  first  made  of  the  eai;th."  Since  everyone  of  us  is  a 
member  of  that  original  family,  which  the  Almighty  was 
pleased  to  create  in  His  own  image,  that  inherent  wisdom 
which  remains  to  us,  as  a  part  of  our  common  nature,  is 
truly  "  the  breath  of  the  power  of  God,  and  a  pure  influence 
flowing  from  the  glory  of  the  Almighty."  We  cannot 
doubt  its  decisions,  because  it  is  God  Himself,  speaking 
to  us  through  that  nature  which  He  has  formed  :  "in 
Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men." 

If  common  reason  were  not  built  upon  this  principle, 
we  might  be  disposed  to  distrust  its  verdict ;  yet  unless 
we  could  trust  it,  what  is  there  in  heaven  or  on  earth, 
which  we  should  be  able  to  believe  ?  Such  an  as- 
surance, therefore,  is  a  means  of  authenticating  those 
primary  convictions,  which  act  before  inquiry,  and 
which  thus  land  us  in  the  results,  by  which  they  are 
themselves  confirmed.  For  on  that  intuitive  judgment, 
which  is  God's  voice  speaking  through  the  common 
nature  of  our  race,  depends  in  truth  the  whole  of  our 
knowledge.  How  else  can  we  be  sure  that  our  senses 
are  trust- worthy  informants,  and  convey  true  intima- 
tions respecting  the  external  world  ?  Or  to  take  a  case 
of  still  greater  moment,  what  else  assures  us  of  the 
existence  of  that  Infinite  and  Absolute  Being,  who  is 
the  real  Parent  of  our  thoughts  ?  These  two  convictions 
must  have  their  commencement  somewhere,  and  whence 
can  it  be,  save  in  that  intuitive  conviction  of  our  race, 
from  which  they  cannot  be  eradicated  ?  And  the  result 


262 


OLD  AND  NEW  EEASON. 


to  which  they  lead  supplies  the  explanation  of  their 
own  origin.  For  it  assures  us  of  the  existence  of  that 
Being,  from  whom  they  were  implanted  in  the  general 
family  of  His  children.  "  He  that  cometh  to  God  must 
believe  that  He  is."  And  then  follow  all  those  other 
truths,  which  are  the  natural  result  of  our  dependence 
on  that  common  Author,  in  whose  image  man  was 
formed.  Hence  arises  the  conviction  that  the  world  is 
held  in  the  hands  of  Infinite  Power ;  that  in  this  Abso- 
lute and  Final  Being,  all  those  traces  of  moral  excel- 
lence, which  are  written  in  our  hearts,  find  their 
perfection ;  that  to  Him  is  due  the  tribute  of  our 
thoughts  and  actions ; — whatever  belongs  to  conscience 
and  the  higher  being  of  man,  and  the  natural  feelings 
of  responsibility,  has  this  origin.  It  is  the  consequence 
of  that  common  nature,  which  speaks  through  the 
intuitions  of  the  heart,  and  which  can  give  proof  of 
its  authority  by  appeaHng  to  that  original  creation, 
whereby  God  "  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  the 
earth."  Thus  does  God  first  kindle  our  apprehension 
through  the  intuitive  perceptions  of  each  single  being, 
and  then  discover  to  us  that  our  mtuitions  are  well- 
founded,  by  showing  them  to  be  based  on  that  common 
nature,  which  is  the  reflex  image  of  its  Maker. 

Hence  it  is,  then,  that  natural  reason  is  entitled  to 
regard.  Weak  as  it  is,  when  the  expression  of  indi- 
vidual caprice,  it  is  irresistible  so  long  as  it  is  built  on 
the  common  principles  of  our  nature.  In  the  first  case 
it  is  uncertain  and  self-contradictory,  because  the  voice 
of  man — in  the  second  it  is  fixed  and  consentient,  as 
being  the  voice  of  God.  This  is  not  the  time  to  inquire 
how  we  are  to  discriminate  these  two  forms  of  natural 


OLD  AND  jSEW  reason. 


263 


judgment,  or  by  what  means  the  one  is  in  practice  to 
be  distinguished  from  the  other.  The  present  inquiry  ^ 
looks  to  a  higher  object.  From  natm-e  we  ascend  to 
grace,  from  the  first  Adam  to  the  Second,  from  old  to 
new  reason,  aud  here  too  it  may  be  seen  that  no  real 
confidence  can  be  placed  in  our  conclusions,  unless  we 
build  them  upon  the  principles  of  that  new  creation, 
which  it  was  the  especial  end  of  the  Gospel  to  bestow. 

For  what  is  meant  by  the  Gospel  ?  It  was  the  coming 
in  of  God's  kingdom,  the  re-creation  of  man's  nature  in 
Jesus  Christ,  the  institution  of  a  new  fiimily,  in  which 
all  the  members  of  Christ  have  their  corporate  life,  as 
the  children  of  men  derive  their  natural  being  from  the 
old  Adam.  For  Christ  Jesus  was  truly  the  New  Head  of 
humanity,  the  fresh  "  beginning  of  tlie  creation  of  God," 
from  whom  all  its  principles  took  that  new  growth, 
which  pertains  to  their  higher  nature.    "  If  any  man 
be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  :  old  things  are  passed 
away :  behold  all  things  are  become  new."    Now  along 
with  the  aflections  and  will  of  man,  there  must  be 
an  alteration  likewise  in  his  capacities  for  knowledge. 
It  would  be  no  new  creation,  no  fresh  being  bestowed 
upon  mankind,  unless  from  "the  first-born  of  every 
creature"  there  flowed  a  higher  judgment  into  the 
nature,  which  He  vouchsafed  to  partake.  Do  we  appeal 
then  to  the  decision  of  natural  reason — we  are  not  re- 
ferring to  the  judgment  of  this  individual  or  that,  all 
such  sentences  must  needs  share  the  infirmity  of  the 
being  who  promulges  them,  but  we  are  building  on  that 
common  verdict  of  nature,  which  is  God's  impress  upon 
our  souls.    And  in  like  manner  when  we  speak  of  neio 
reason,  of  the  higher  faculty  of  a  divine  perception,  of 


264 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


the  spiritual  judgment  of  renewed  humanity,  what  is 
meant  is  "no  private  interpretation"  of  Holy  Writ,  no 
individual  claim  to  an  inspired  judgment,  but  that 
Divine  voice  of  the  re-created  nature,  which  tells  us  of 
those  higher  mysteries,  which  the  blessed  Spirit  has 
communicated  to  the  family  of  regenerate  man.  "  We 
speak  wisdom,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  among  them  that 
are  perfect ;  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor  of 
the  princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to  naught ;  but  we 
speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the  hidden 
wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our 
glory ;  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew, 
for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified 
the  Lord  of  Glory.  But  as  it  is  written,  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  Him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us 
by  His  Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea, 
the  deep  things  of  God." 

What  is  sought,  then,  is  the  judgment  of  the  regene- 
rate race,  that  higher  principle  which  was  claimed  for 
himself  and  his  brethren  by  the  inspired  Apostle  :  "  we 
have  the  mind  of  Christ."  Now  this  wisdom  is  too 
vast  to  be  apprehended  by  those  faculties  which  man 
received  by  creation.  "  The  first  man  knew  her  not 
perfectly,  no  more  shall  the  last  find  her  out.  For  her 
thoughts  are  more  than  the  sea,  and  her  counsels  pro- 
founder  than  the  great  deep."  "  For  who  hath  stood 
in  the  counsel  of  the  Lord,  and  hath  perceived  and 
heard  His  word?"  Is  this  gift,  then,  denied  to  the 
children  of  men?  Has  wisdom  never  revealed  itself 
among  them  ?    Has  there  not  been  one  child  of  Adam 


OLD  AND  NETT  REASON. 


265 


"  in  whom  were  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge?"  Yes,  there  has.  For  ^'the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truthr  Thus  was  there  manifest 
among  us  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born 
of  every  creature."  In  Him  was  set  forth  the  perfec- 
tion of  man's  nature,  free  from  all  those  evils  which 
had  been  entailed  upon  it  by  the  sin  of  its  first  pos- 
sessor. Therefore  did  it  reflect  perfectly  the  likeness 
of  its  Creator,  because  He  who  clothed  Himself  with  it 
was  truly  "  the  image  of  God."  In  His  Person  was  the 
gift  of  a  superior  reason  bestowed  upon  mankind;  and 
that  blessing  which  Adam  had  impaired  by  sin,  was 
given  back  in  a  higher  than  its  original  perfection  in 
Christ  Jesus.  He  is  made  of  God  unto  us  wisdom 
and  righteousness,"  because  He  is  "  Christ  the  power  of 
God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God."  And  "  we  beheld  His 
glory,"  says  the  beloved  Apostle,  "  the  glory  as  of  the 
only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 
For  not  only  did  He  possess  that  divine  vision  to  which 
all  the  secrets  of  the  heavenly  world  lay  exposed,  but 
in  Him  alone  was  there  a  perfect  expression  of  that 
human  intuition,  w^hich  discerns  the  true  nature  and 
purposes  of  this.  So  that  real  faith  not  only  acts  on 
those  new  views  of  things,  which  He  revealed  by  His 
insight  into  the  unseen  state,  but  likewise  apprehends 
those  new  relations  of  things  present,  which  His  con- 
duct exhibited.  To  "  have  the  mind  of  Christ/'  is  not 
only  to  enter  into  the  secrets  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
but  it  is  to  have  that  practical  character  by  which  they 

are  appreciated.    It  teaches  that  to  be  "meek  and 

18 


266 


OLD  AND  mW  REASON. 


lowly  in  heart"  is  true  honour,  and  that  to  forgive  an 
injury  is  more  noble  than  to  avenge  it. 

But  was  this  gift  exhibited  in  its  perfection  in  the 
new  Head  of  our  race,  and  yet  no  provision  made  for 
communicating  it  to  His  members  ?  Was  our  race  ex- 
alted in  Him,  that  it  might  be  more  depressed  in  His 
brethren  ?  Is  He  not  "  made  tmto  us  wisdom  ?"  If  He 
was  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God/'  do  not  the 
very  words  imply  that  there  must  be  some  to  follow 
Him  ?  And  so  St.  Paul  expressly  teaches,  speaking  of 
the  Church  as  "  His  Body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that 
filleth  all  in  all."  For  as  the  ends  of  Adam's  being 
w^ould  not  have  been  complete,  unless  a  progeny  had 
followed  him  5  so  likewise  the  object  of  Christ's  Incar- 
nation would  have  been  frustrated,  unless  He  had  seen 
"  His  seed unless  in  their  growth  He  had  seen  of 
the  travail  of  His  soul,"  and  been  "  satisfied."  And 
what  else  could  be  the  meaning  of  Our  Lord's  declara- 
tion, "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of 
the  world?"  Why  should  He  tell  His  disciples,  1  will 
not  leave  you  comfortless,  I  will  come  to  you  ?"  He 
plainly  taught  that  the  higher  wisdom,  which  had 
dwelt  in  the  hallowed  temple  of  His  own  humanity, 
should  be  bestowed  as  the  means  of  insight  and  obedi- 
ence on  those,  whom  He  associated  as  members  to  Him- 
self For  this  was  the  very  work  which  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  so  mercifully  vouchsafed  to  discharge,  when  He 
became  the  medium  through  which  the  Manhood  of 
the  Ascended  Son  was  present  with  His  people.  "  The 
Spirit  shall  guide  you  into  all  truth;"  "He  shall  receive 
of  Mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you." 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON.  267 

Now  the  nature  of  this  gift  will  lead  of  itself  to  a 
perception  of  the  channel  through  which  Our  Lord  im- 
parts it.  It  is  that  endowment  which  Our  Lord  be- 
stowed upon  His  Apostles,  when  He  "opened  their 
understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures." It  is  the  same  power,  whereby  He  afterwards 
opened  the  heart  of  Lydia,  "  that  she  attended  unto  the 
things  which  were  spoken  of  Paul."  It  was  the  very 
gift  which  He  promised  to  His  servants,  "  even  the 
spirit  of  truth,  whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because 
it  seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him,  but  ye  know 
Him,  for  He  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you." 
Without  this  guidance,  therefore,  the  written  declara- 
tions of  truth  would  be  an  unprofitable  stud}^  They 
would  be  as  unfruitful  as  would  the  phenomena  of  the 
visible  world,  if  no  faculties  of  observation,  no  powers 
of  inference,  were  implanted  in  us  by  nature.  As  the 
gifts  of  natural  intuition  are  needful  for  the  compre- 
hension of  things  earthly,  so  to  comprehend  things 
heavenly,  we  need  the  gifts  of  divine  intuition.  With 
the  one  endowment  was  our  race  provided  through  the 
first  creation ;  the  re-creation  of  mankind  in  Christ  was 
the  commencement  of  the  second.  Natural  reason  tells 
us  of  the  existence  of  God ;  but  to  understand  God  in 
Christ  is  the  gift  of  the  Gospel.  Keason  may  teach  the 
unity  of  the  Creator ;  but  the  deeper  truth  of  the 
Blessed  Trinity,  and  of  that  diversity  of  Persons, 
which  opens  a  way  to  the  scheme  of  man's  redemption, 
belongs  to  the  higher  faculty  of  divine  illumination. 
Reason  suggests  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  Great  Cause 
of  all ;  but  the  truth  that  God  has  become  Incarnate, 


268 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


is«  appreciated  only  through  the   guidance  of  that 
Holy  Ghost/'  without  which  "  no  man  can  say  that 
Jesus  is  the  Lord." 

It  w^as  the  practical  appreciation  of  these  and  such 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  which  Our  Lord  promised  to  His 
Disciples,  as  the  result  of  His  continual  presence  with 
them  by  spiritual  power.  Is  it  asked  then,  as  a  fact, 
how  these  things  have  been  maintained  in  the  world  ? 
Not  merely  by  individual  argument,  though  individuals 
have  often  argued  for  them  with  earnestness  and  force, 
but  by  that  higher  testimony  of  the  collective  body  of 
the  Church,  which  has  a  different  and  higher  claim  to 
regard.  For  in  things  sacred  the  Church's  judgment 
has  the  same  weight,  which  the  common  consent  of 
men  possesses  in  things  profane.  As  the  one  discovers 
the  law  of  God's  natural  guidance,  so  the  law  of  His 
spiritual  guidance  is  indicated  by  the  other.  Therefore 
have  the  Creeds,  by  which  the  true  interpretation  of 
Holy  Scripture  has  ever  been  maintained,  had  their 
authority  not  from  private  wit,  but  from  the  Church's 
testimony.  Is  it  asked  what  Avere  taken  in  the  earliest 
times  to  be  the  fundamental  truths,  which  were  re- 
vealed in  Scripture — the  answer  is  supplied  by  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  as  being  the  belief  which  in  the  first 
age  of  the  Church  was  required  at  Baptism.  Do  we 
advance  further  to  the  period  when  Arian  subtil ty  be- 
guiled the  Church  ?  The  Creed  of  Nice  is  the  bulwark 
which  was  raised  against  it.  That  which  is  called  the 
Creed  of  St.  Athanasius  contains  in  like  manner  the 
truth,  which  the  universal  Church  in  her  most  numer- 
ous Councils  opposed  to  the  perversities  of  Nestorius 
and  of  Eutyches.    Had  these  errors  been  opposed  only 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


269 


by  private  reasoners,  something  plausible  might  no 
doubt  have  been  produced  on  the  one  side,  as  well  as 
on  the  other.  The  case  would  have  resembled  one  of 
those  private  arguments,  by  which  the  most  certain 
truths  of  natural  morality  may  be  assaulted.  Against 
such  dangers  we  refer  always  to  that  common  consent 
of  mankind,  which  supplies  the  only  barrier  against 
eccentricity.  And  if  the  great  truths  of  Scripture  are 
assailed,  our  appeal  must  be  in  like  manner  to  that 
common  feeling  of  the  whole  Christian  family,  which 
is  as  plainly  the  voice  of  our  New  Head,  as  natural 
reason  is  that  of  the  original  Creator.  For  a  new 
creation  implies  a  new  reason;  the  gift  of  a  higher 
faculty  follows  of  necessity  from  the  renewal  of  the 
powers  of  man :  and  in  respect  therefore  of  things  sa- 
cred, there  must  of  necessity  be  an  appeal  to  the  com- 
mon consent  of  regenerate  nature. 

This,  then,  is  the  security  whereby  the  gift  of  a 
higher  reason  may  be  guarded  from  those  absurdities, 
which  the  judgment  of  the  world  imputes  to  it.  The 
new  reason  of  God's  unseen  kingdom  is  not  more  vague, 
uncertain,  and  self-contradictory,  than  that  old  reason, 
whereby  the  children  of  men  administer  this.  Is  the 
Gospel  rule  capable  of  abuse,  so  is  that  of  nature.  The 
one  has  its  laws,  and  its  criterion,  as  well  as  the  other. 
Each  may  be  employed  by  individuals  at  their  will ; 
but  in  neither  can  any  individual  lay  claim  to  authority. 
For  that  which  one  man  advances  may  be  disputed  by 
another.  Let  the  wisest  and  best  individual  give  his 
interpretation  of  the  words  of  Scripture,  let  him  be 
Saint  or  Martyr,  Bishop  or  Eeformer,  and  however  deep 
be  his  insight  into  revealed  truth,  he  may  be  matched 


270 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


by  some  opponent  of  equal  pretensions.  So  is  it  plainly 
respecting  things  natural ;  we  have  no  safeguard  against 
the  discrepancy  of  the  greatest  minds :  and  experience 
witnesses  that  it  may  be  so  likewise  respecting  things 
divine.  And  as  such  fallacious  use  of  reason  may 
often  delude  whole  parties  and  families  of  men,  so  may 
large  and  weighty  portions  of  the  Christian  world  be 
misled  in  their  judgments.  There  is  no  promise  that 
national  Churches  shall  enjoy  an  immunity  from  re- 
ligious error^  any  more  than  common  reason  guarantees 
nations  from  natural  mistakes.  And  yet  the  body  is  in 
each  instance  rather  to  be  trusted  than  the  individual 
— at  least  in  those  cases,  wdiich  do  not  imply  logical 
deduction  and  scientific  reasoning,  but  which  are  an  ap- 
peal to  such  intuitive  judgments  as  rest  on  the  deep 
convictions  of  the  natural  or  the  regenerate  heart.  Lot 
indeed  served  God  alone  in  a  reprobate  city,  and 
Athanasius  stood  fast  amidst  an  Arianizing  world,  but 
these  are  both  extreme  case ;  w^hereof  the  one  does  not 
prove  that  truth  was  lost  to  the  Church,  nor  the  other 
that  conscience  was  extinguished  in  the  world.  If  the 
men  of  Sodom  were  "  sinners  before  the  Lord  exceed- 
ingly," it  was  not  because  they  had  been  born  without 
conscience,  but  because  they  had  stifled  it  by  their 
crimes :  if  Athanasius  stood  alone,  it  was  only  till 
fuller  explanation  could  enlighten  the  Church  respect- 
ing the  real  nature  of  his  protest.  Such  instances  then 
do  not  disprove  the  truth  of  that  general  rule,  which 
leads  us  to  appeal  from  individual  caprice  to  national 
judgments.  For  in  so  doing  we  are  approximating  to 
that  universal  law  of  common  consent,  which  is  the 
ultimate  appeal.    For  this  has  been  shown  to  be  the 


OLD  AND  NETV  EEASON. 


271 


voice  of  God^  speaking  through  the  very  constitution 
of  that  nature^  which  Himself  has  formed.  And  if  this 
could  mislead,  what  could  remain  to  guide  us?  To 
what  could  we  trust,  if  not  to  the  original  principles 
which  our  Maker  has  laid  down  as  the  very  framework 
of  our  thoughts  ? 

Now,  as  it  is  a  part  of  natural  piety  to  trust  to  God's 
voice,  speaking  through  the  constitution  of  our  minds, 
so  to  trace  His  guiding  hand,  as  seen  in  the  direction  of 
the  common  Body  of  His  Church,  is  the  direct  mandate 
of  His  sovereign  will.  For  is  it  not  His  assurance  to 
the  Universal  Church  that  "the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it?"  Is  not  His  Church  guaranteed 
therefore  from  such  fundamental  error,  as  would  he 
fatal  to  its  being  ?  If  the  existence  of  conscience  be  a 
sort  of  virtual  promise  from  the  Maker  of  our  being 
that  the  intuitions  of  universal  nature  cannot  deceive, 
are  not  those  declarations,  whereby  Christ  Our  Lord 
has  promised  His  perpetual  Presence  to  the  collective 
body  of  His  Church,  an  assurance  of  equal  certainty, 
that  it  will  never  finally  become  apostate  ?  As  we  rest, 
then,  in  one  case  on  the  consent  of  man,  as  showing  the 
deep  principles  of  humanity,  so  in  the  other  do  we 
appeal  to  the  common  testimony  of  the  regenerate  mind, 
as  exhibiting  those  principles  which  originated  in  the 
new  creation.  And  as  the  natural  judgment  will  not 
justify  individuals  in  overstepping  their  allotted  pro- 
vince, but  shows  itself  in  the  consentient  acting  of  the 
principles  by  which  mankind  is  governed,  so  must  the 
judgment  of  the  Church  be  collected  according  to  those 
laws,  and  in  conformity  to  those  maxims,  which  were 
appointed  for  its  guidance  by  Him  who  founded  it. 


272 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


The  Church's  judgment  will  ever  be  expressed  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rules  of  its  constitution,  and  through 
the  ordained  organs  by  which  its  voice  is  expressed. 
In  their  unity  will  the  great  mass  of  the  lay  voice  con- 
cur. What  had  been  Our  Lord's  meaning  in  telling 
men  to  refer  a  disputed  point  to  the  Church's  adjudica- 
tion, unless  it  had  possessed  an  organization  through 
which  to  speak,  and  officers  through  whom  to  decide  ? 
When  the  Apostle  says  "  we  have  no  such  custom,  nei- 
ther the  Churches  of  God,"  or  when  he  refers  the  settle- 
ment of  a  difficult  question  to  the  time  when  they  were 
"  gathered  together  with  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 
he  plainly  looks  to  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a  body 
which,  like  other  bodies,  could  give  utterance  to  its 
will.  For  "  He  gave  some  Apostles,  and  some  prophets, 
and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and  teachers : 
for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  Body  of  Christ.  Till 
we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ :  that  we 
henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and 
carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  by  the  sleight 
of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive;  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may 
grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head,  even 
Christ.  From  w^hom  the  whole  Body,  fitly  joined  to- 
gether, and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  sup- 
plieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure 
of  every  part,  maketli  increase  of  the  Body,  unto  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

The  higher  reason  then  to  which  Scripture  refers, 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


273 


and  its  reference  to  spiritual  guidance,  is  no  vague  ad- 
mission of  an  uncertain  and  self-contradictory  principle 
— no  idle  concession  to  individual  conceit.  It  is  but 
the  necessary  result  of  that  renewal  of  man's  nature, 
which  must  be  accompanied  by  higher  faculties  as  well 
as  by  improved  affections.  It  is  built  upon  that  re- 
creation of  humanity  in  the  Son  of  God,  w^hereby  our 
nature  was  made  participant  of  heavenly  blessings. 
From  Him,  as  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God," 
w^as  a  higher  rule  of  judgment  bestowed  upon  His  breth- 
ren. This  rule,  like  the  law  of  natural  reason,  is  capable 
of  abuse;  it  provides  no  criterion  of  truth  unless  its 
principles  of  interpretation  are  regarded;  but  when  duly 
used,  it  is  the  parent  of  a  better  knowledge  than  the 
children  of  this  world  can  possess.  For  "the  Son  of 
God  is  come,  and  hath  given  us  an  understanding." 
Through  Him,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man, 
come  all  the  blessings  of  the  regenerate  being.  As  the 
faculties  of  nature  were  bestowed  as  an  immediate  gift 
by  the  Creator,  so  the  new  reason  of  re-created  nature 
is  the  gift  of  Christ  Our  Lord  to  His  brethren.  "  For 
of  His  fulness  have  all  we  received  and  grace  for 
grace." 

Now  from  this  truth  follow  two  practical  conclusions 
— one  applicable  to  those  who  minister  in  the  kingdom 
of  God ;  the  other  to  all  its  members.  It  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  none  can  claim  that  supernatural 
guidance  which  is  an  especial  promise  of  the  Gospel 
covenant,  unless  they  are  members  of  that  Body  of 
Christ,  which  is  the  dwelling-place  of  His  Spirit.  If 
"  the  Son  of  God  hath  given  us  an  understanding,  that 
we  may  know  Him  that  is  true,"  it  is  because  "  we  are 


274 


OLD  AND  NEW  REASON. 


in  Him  that  is  true,  even  in  His  Son  Jesus  Christ." 
AYe  cannot  Hmit  indeed  that  abundant  stream  of  God's 
mercy,  which  may  far  overflow  the  channel,  through 
which  He  usually  bestows  it.    But  none  can  claim  this 
gift,  who  are  not  members  of  His  Body,  of  His  flesh, 
and  of  His  bones.    And  this  union  is  not  obtained 
through  the  uncertain  medium  of  such  private  will,  as 
partakes  rather  of  the  waywardness  of  individual 
caprice ;  it  has  its  authorized  and  established  course 
through  that  Sacramental  action  of  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whereby  men  are  engrafted  into  the  Body  of 
their  Incarnate  Saviour.    It  does  not  belong  to  every 
one  therefore  to  claim  this  gift,  merely  because  his 
fancy  witnesses  that  he  possesses  it :  it  is  the  Church's 
gift,  just  as  natural  reason  is  the  endowment  of  the 
human  family ;  and  as  men  possess  the  earthly  power 
through  true  descent  from  the  family  of  the  first  Adam ; 
so  it  is  only  through  real  union  with  the  Incarnate  Son. 
and  through  genuine  sympathy  with  His  Body  mysti, 
cal,  that  men  can  possess  the  higher  power  of  the  spi- 
ritual understanding. 

Again,  another  caution  regards  those  whose  ofiice  is 
to  minister  the  Gospel.  Their  claim  to  teach  must  be 
ever  limited  "  by  the  proportion  of  faith."  When  they 
profess  to  explain  the  oracles  of  God,  what  right  have 
they  to  prefer  their  individual  caprice  to  that  teaching 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whereby  the  common  body  of  the 
Church  is  withheld  from  fundamental  error  ?  If  men  teach 
what  is  contrary  to  that  public  testimony,  into  which  the 
Church  has  been  guided  by  the  Spirit,  neither  station  nor 
ability  will  exempt  them  from  the  reproach  of  opposing 
the  Gospel.    When  the  Prayer-Book  therefore  preaches 


OLD  AXD  NEW  REASON. 


275 


one  tiling,  and  the  Sermon  another,  when  one  language 
is  used  at  the  font,  and  another  in  the  pulpit — this  is 
not  because  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit  is  defective,  but 
because  the  reason  of  man  is  fallacious.  Would  "  the 
Priest's  lips  keep  knowledge,"  he  must  recognize  the  au- 
thority of  that  public  guidance,  without  which  there 
can  be  no  fixed  interpretation  of  Scripture^  and  no  last- 
ing agreement  among  men. 


SERMON  XXIV. 


PREDESTINATION. 


Daniel  vii.  13, 14. 

^'  I  sa  w  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  came 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and 
they  brought  Him  near  before  Rim.  And  there  was  given  Him  do- 
minion, and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  jpeople,  nations,  and 
languages,  should  serve  Him  ;  His  dominion  is  an  everlasting  domin- 
ion, which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  His  kingdom  that  which  shall 
not  be  destroyed." 

Thus  long  beforehand  was  the  Prophet  instructed 
respecting  the  certainty  of  those  events,  which  must  be 
fulfilled  in  their  season.  For  "  known  unto  God  are  all 
His  works,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world."  Nor 
were  these  great  things  known  to  Him  only,  as  to  an 
indifferent  spectator ;  they  were  the  objects  of  His  coun- 
sel, the  effects  of  His  mercy :  "  He  hath  determined  the 
times  before  appointed."  And  His  appointments  affect 
the  individual  destiny  of  men :  "  we  have  obtained  an 
inheritance,  being  predestinated,  according  to  the  pur- 
pose of  Him,  Avho  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel 
of  His  own  will."  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  distinct  in 
their  assurance  that  man's  fortunes  are  in  this  wise 
bound  up  with  the  pre-arrangements  of  God.    "  Whom 


PREDESTINATION. 


277 


He  did  foreknow.  He  also  did  predestinate."  And 
those  who  are  thus  pre-appointed  are  declared  to  be 
chosen  or  elected  by  Almighty  God,  through  the  free 
exercise  of  His  sovereign  will.  Jacob  was  the  object 
of  His  choice  rather  than  Esau,  "  that  the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand ;  not  of  works, 
but  of  Him  that  calleth."  Those  who  are  thus  favoured 
are  spoken  of  as  "  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge 
of  God  the  Father."  And  since  this  doctrine  is  so 
plainly  revealed  in  Scripture,  it  is  neither  safe  nor 
reverent  to  abstract  from  it  our  thoughts.  Not  safe, 
because  any  Scriptural  doctrine,  which  is  habitually- 
suppressed  (as  by  many  persons  is  the  doctrine  of  God's 
predestination),  will  certainly  force  itself  again  into 
notice,  and  perhaps  disturb  "  the  proportion  of  faith ;" 
— not  reverent,  because  it  is  presumptuous  in  man  to 
esteem  God's  words  indifferent  or  injmious;  and  to  sup- 
pose that  no  importance  can  attach  to  truths,  which 
were  deemed  weighty  and  practical  by  inspired  Apos- 
tles. Does  not  St.  Paul  tell  the  Thessalonian  Chris- 
tians, "  we  give  thanks  to  God  always  for  you  all — 
knowing,  brethren  beloved,  your  election  of  God  ?"  Did 
he  not  feel  himself  "bound  to  give  thanks  alway  to 
God,  because  God"  had  "  from  the  beginning  chosen" 
them  "unto  salvation?"  Why  were  things  true  at 
Thessalonica,  which  are  false  or  dangerous  among  our- 
selves— and  how  venture  we  to  suppress  a  matter,  which 
the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  felt  himself  "  houncV  to 
declare  ? 

Let  us,  then,  in  the  first  place  inquire  what  has  led 
many  to  deny,  or  at  least  admit,  this  truth ;  and 
secondly,  what  is  its  due  extent  and  meaning. 


278 


PREDESTINATION. 


I.  Predestination  and  election  have  often  been  ob- 
jected tO;  because  supposed  inconsistent  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  man.  Predestination  has  been  understood  by 
many  to  mean,  that  previous  to  man's  birth  or  even  to 
the  world's  existence  a  decree  was  passed  by  Almighty 
God,  by  which  some  persons  were  inevitably  fated  to 
salvation ;  the  residue  of  the  world,  by  their  omission 
from  this  favoured  number,  being  doomed  with  equal 
certainty  to  everlasting  ruin.  Those  who  have  thus 
stated  the  matter  have  not  been  content  to  affirm  it  as 
a  fact,  involved  in  a  manner  to  us  unknown  by  some 
inevitable  necessity ;  still  less  have  they  been  willing 
to  refer  it  to  any  supernatural  foresight  of  men's  future 
actions :  it  has  been  brought  forward  as  a  decree,  as  a 
sentence  passed  on  men  spontaneously  .by  their  Maker 
before  their  birth,  the  unchecked  supremacy  of  His 
irresistible  will,  whereby  the  larger  part  of  His  intelli- 
gent creatures  has  been  consigned  to  endless  misery, 
without  opportunity  of  trial  or  possibility  of  escape. 
Such  a  view  of  things  has  been  defended,  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  eminently  humbling  to  man,  and  peculiarly 
conducive  to  God's  glory.  How  far  this  is  true  ab- 
stractedly it  is  needless  to  ask,  and  whether  it  may  not 
puff  up  those  who  are,  or  think  themselves,  God's 
elected  favourites  :  the  first  question  respects  its  accord- 
ance with  Holy  Writ,  and  whether  it  really  rests  on 
inspired  authority. 

Does  this  view  of  things  then  consist  with  the  words 
of  Our  Lord  ?  Does  it  accord  with  His  gracious  ex- 
pressions of  regret  at  the  sight  of  Jerusalem  ?  "  When 
He  was  come  near.  He  beheld  the  city  and  wept  over 
it."    "  0  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the 


PREDESTINATION. 


279 


prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together, 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings, 
and  ye  would  not."  Or  again,  take  the  words  of  the 
Almighty  by  His  ancient  prophet.  "  If  the  wicked 
will  turn  from  all  his  sins,  that  he  hath  committed,  and 
keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not  die." 

"  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked  should 
die,  saith  the  Lord  God :  and  not  that  he  should  return 
from  his  waj's  and  live  ?"  It  were  needless  to  multiiDly 
passages,  since  these  are  but  a  specimen  of  the  general 
language  of  Holy  Writ.  And  can  it  be  conceived  that 
the  Being,  from  whom  such  promises  proceed,  by  His 
own  decree  precludes  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed, 
from  the  possibility  of  accepting  them  ?  Is  not  the  very- 
supposition  an  insult  to  his  character?  Can  the  God 
of  truth  declare  His  anxiety  for  men's  repentance,  while 
at  the  same  time  He  Himself  renders  their  repentance 
impossible?  "Shall  not  the  judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right  ?"  And  would  not  such  a  state  of  things  be  in- 
consistent with  the  responsibility  of  man,  as  well  as 
derogatory  to  the  truth  of  his  Maker  ?  For  by  blame 
is  meant  the  censure  which  is  past  on  those  who  miglit 
do  well,  but  do  otherwise.  It  cannot  attach  therefore 
to  involuntary  offences.  With  man's  power  to  mil,  the 
sinfulness  of  his  transgressions  must  be  abandoned.  So 
that  the  accountableness  of  man — a  truth  witnessed  by 
his  own  consciousness — is  overthrown  by  the  same  sys- 
tem, by  which  the  truth  of  Holy  Scripture  is  invalidated. 

It  is  not  of  course  denied  that  the  creation  of 
responsible  agents  involves  an  inscrutable  mystery, 


280 


PREDESTINATION. 


such  as  our  present  capacities  are  unable  to  explore. 
For  since  free  agency  implies  the  power  of  willing 
amiss,  as  well  as  the  power  of  willing  rightly,  it 
would  seem  that  if  men  had  been  created  under  a 
law,  which  forbad  the  possibility  of  failing,  there  could 
not  in  the  nature  of  the  case  have  been  such  a  thing 
as  responsibility.  What  indeed  is  the  exact  nature  of 
that  power  of  evil,  which  appears  in  this  way  to  be 
essential  to  the  existence  of  excellence  :  why  Infinite 
Love  ordained  that  the  world  should  exist,  since  there 
can  be  such  a  thing  as  a  being  of  whom  Infinite  Wisdom 
has  declared  that  it  were  "  good  for  him  that  he  had 
never  been  born" — these  are  questions  with  which  reli- 
gion is  not  really  concerned,  and  which  philosophy  has 
never  been  able  to  settle.  But  that  "  God  will  have 
all  men  to  be  saved,"  is  not  a  mere  dictate  of  philosophy  : 
it  is  a  statement  of  revealed  religion,  which  is  fast  bound 
to  the  truth  of  Him  who  "cannot  lie."  "Hath  He 
said,  and  shall  He  not  do  it ;  or  hath  He  spoken,  and 
shall  He  not  make  it  good  ?"  Every  man  can  do  what 
he  can  ;  and  Scripture  plainly  declares,  that  every  one 
who  does  what  he  can  will  be  saved.  We  may  con- 
fidently say,  therefore,  with  Bishop  Taylor,  "  our  faith 
concerning  God  must  be,  as  Himself  hath  revealed  and 
described  His  own  excellencies."  "  But  he  that  believes 
God  to  be  cruel  or  unmerciful,  or  a  rejoicer  in  the  un- 
avoidable damnation  of  the  greater  part  of  mankind,  or 
that  He  speaks  one  thing  and  privately  means  another, 
thinks  evil  thoughts  concerning  God,  and  such  as  for 
which  we  should  hate  a  man,  and  therefore  are  great 
enemies  of  faith."*    It  would  be  contrary  to  natural 

*  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living,"  cap.  i.  s.  1. 


PR.EDESTIXATIOx\. 


281 


piety  to  believe  the  promises  of  Scripture  to  be  a 
mockery ;  it  would  be  a  denial  of  human  responsibility 
and  of  divine  truth. 

But  how  can  we  give  full  weight  to  the  unquestion- 
able statements  of  the  Apostle,  while  we  guard  against 
violating  natural  piety,  and  insulting  the  majesty  of 
God?  AYhat  is  required  is  such  an  interpretation  as 
may  allow  them  due  importance,  and  yet  respect  the 
analogy  of  Scripture.  It  has  too  often  happened  that 
those  who  have  fixed  their  eyes  on  God's  general  pro- 
mises have  shut  them  to  the  assurances  of  an  mdividual 
predestination,  forgetting  that  no  explanation  can  be 
satisfactory,  which  does  not  do  ample  justice  to  the  one 
statement,  without  detracting  from  the  other.  Now 
what  are  the  exact  conditions  of  the  case  before  us ; 
what  is  the  precise  statement  of  Scripture  respecting 
the  divine  Predestination  ?  Three  especial  terms  are 
employed  by  St.  Paul  in  its  expression :  foreknowledge, 
predestination,  election.  The  first  of  these  may  be 
recognized  without  difiiculty;  for  all  who  believe  in 
God,  attribute  to  Him  the  power  of  universal  foresight. 
Such  a  condition,  therefore,  is  assigned  to  the  divine 
nature,  by  those  who  never  question  the  responsibility 
of  men.  How  His  unlimited  knowledge  of  future  con- 
tingencies is  compatible  with  the  unbiassed  freedom  of 
inferior  agents,  is  a  difiiculty  of  philosophy  rather  than 
of  religion.  It  is  enough  for  our  present  purpose,  that  to 
admit  the  existence  of  a  God  is  to  acknowledge  a  Being 
to  subsist,  before  whom  the  map  of  the  future  is  as 
plainly  spread  out,  as  the  present  or  the  past  before 
created  intelligences.  And  considering  that  time  and 
space  are  kindred  ideas,  which  have  their  birth  within 


282 


PREDESTINATIOISr. 


ourselves,  and  are  forced  upon  us  by  tlie  laws  of  our 
limited  existence,  there  can  be  no  ground  for  wonder 
that  as  the  Being  of  the  Incomprehensible  One  can- 
not be  bounded  by  space,  so  the  element  of  time  should 
not  interfere  with  the  infinite  presentiality  of  eternity. 

The  foreknowledge  of  God  then  presents  no  difiiculty, 
because  it  does  not  limit  the  responsibility  of  His  crea- 
tures. It  concerns  God  and  not  man.  It  results  from 
that  exemption  from  the  law  of  time,  w^hich  renders  the 
Eternal  One  a  spectator  of  the  future :  its  cause  is  the 
divine  infinity,  not  the  absence  of  human  free-agency- 
But  it  is  otherwise  with  Predestination.  This  has 
plainly  man  for  its  object.  It  is  the  pre-appointment 
or  previous  settlement  of  man's  destiny.  And  Election 
in  like  manner  is  the  choosing  of  certain  men  out  of  the 
vast  mass  of  Adam's  descendants.  The  only  remaining 
question,  therefore,  in  this  case  respects  the  thing  to 
which  persons  are  chosen  ;  and  for  what  it  is  that  they 
are  appointed.  Are  they  pre-appointed  to  final  salva- 
tion ?  Does  the  election  single  out  those  who  will  ul- 
timately be  the  children  of  glory,  so  that  none  who  are 
excluded  from  the  favoured  number  need  seek  to  be 
admitted — all  who  are  within  it  are  sure  of  heaven  ? 
Or  is  the  pre-appointment  to  some  immediate  advan- 
tages, by  which  man's  state  indeed  may  be  greatly  al- 
tered, but  which  do  not  ensure  future  haj^piness,  unless 
present  opportunities  shall  be  duly  improved  ?  Li  the 
first  place,  human  responsibility  is  plainly  at  an  end, 
because  wdiere  no  risk  is,  there  can  be  no  trial :  the 
second  alternative  pre-supposes  an  individual  election 
as  much  as  the  other,  but  addresses  men  as  still  re- 
quiring exertion,  because  still  liable  to  failure.  Which 


PREDESTINATION. 


283 


of  these  is  the  language  of  Holy  Writ  ?  Predestination 
is  twice  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul :  in  both  cases  it  is  con- 
nected with  a  peculiar  relation  to  that  Second  Person 
in  the  Ever-Blessed  Trinity,  who  became  the  Head  of 
man  s  race,  that  He  might  bestow  a  new  character  upon 
all  its  members.  "  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  He  did 
predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  likeness  of  His  Son, 
that  He  might  be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren." 
Again,  God  "  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  chil- 
dren b}^  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself"  In  the  only  two 
passages*  then  in  which  Predestination  is  spoken  of  in 
Holy  Scripture,  its  simple  reference  to  man's  salvation 
is  qualified  by  the  consideration,  that  it  is  an  appoint- 
ment to  membership  in  that  new  familj',  which  has 
been  substituted  for  the  original  race  of  man.  And  as 
man's  indi\ddual  responsibility  is  left  wholly-  untouched, 
when  it  is  said  that  he  possesses  that  fallen  nature 
which  he  has  from  Adam ;  so  it  does  not  appear  why 
his  responsibiUty  should  be  destroyed  by  the  possession 
of  that  renewed  nature,  of  which  Christ  was  the  founder. 
Exclude  the  element  of  time,  which  is  irrelevant  to  the 
dealings  of  the  Almighty,  and  the  decrees  of  God  res- 
pecting the  fallen  or  the  renewed  family  of  man,  would 
leave  the  responsibility  of  each  equally  unaffected. 

Again,  if  from  Predestination  we  turn  to  Election, 
here  we  find  nothing  in  the  terms  themselves,  which 
excludes  the  idea  of  responsibility.  It  does  not  seem 
that  men  are  chosen  to  final  salvation,  but  chosen  to 
that  state  of  which  final  salvation  is  the  fitting  issue. 
No  words  of  Holy  Scripture,  perhaps,  are  stronger  than 


*  Romans,  viii.  29,  30. 


Eph.  i.  5,  11. 


284 


PREDESTINATION. 


those  in  which  St.  Paul  tells  the  Thessalonians  that 
God  hath  "  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation, 
through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the 
truth."  What  more  is  wanted,  it  may  be  said,  than 
this  ?  Almighty  God  elects  men  by  arbitrary  decree 
to  that  course  of  conduct,  of  which  eternal  life  is  the 
necessary  result.  But  if  the  effects  of  this  appointment 
were  irrespective  of  the  responsibility  of  its  objects,  then 
would  the  disobedience  of  those  who  reject  God's  will 
be  referrible  to  the  same  law  with  the  obedience  of  those 
who  serve  Him.  For  unless  something  besides  God's 
appointment  be  supposed  to  concur  in  the  salvation  of 
the  one,  there  remains  nothing  but  God's  appointment 
to  which  we  may  attribute  the  destruction  of  the  other. 
Now  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  language  of  Scripture. 
God  is  said  to  "  endure  with  much  long-suffering  the 
vessels  of  wrath  fitted  for  destruction."  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  an  election  to  unholiness.  Those  who 
are  ordained  to  condemnation"  are  such  as  by  their 
own  act  "  turn  the  grace  of  our  God  into  lasciviousness." 
And  those  who  are  chosen,  are  still  required  to  make 
their  "  calling  and  election  sure."  So  that  we  may  con- 
fidently declare  that  "  God  hath  commanded  no  man 
to  do  wickedly,  neither  hath  He  given  any  man  license 
to  sin." 

The  statements  of  Holy  Writ,  therefore,  do  not  in- 
volve any  conclusions  which  interfere  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  mankind.  And  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that  an  Election  of  individuals  to  the  privileges  of  the 
Gospel,  and  their  Predestination  to  membership  in 
Christ,  will  to  many  seem  insufficient  to  support  the 
weight  of  the  Apostle's  words.    Their  judgment  is 


PREDESTIXATION. 


285 


builtj  not  without  reason,  on  the  general  tone  of  his 
language.  It  is  certainly  an  irreverent  evasion  of  the 
force  of  Scripture,  to  suppose  that  some  common-place 
event  or  change  could  be  all  which  was  designed  by 
its  most  grave  and  serious  expressions.  This  is  a  com- 
mon fault  in  men's  interpretation  of  God's  Word.  It  is 
the  natural  result  of  their  disbelief  in  that  unseen 
kingdom  of  grace  which  is  round  about  them.  How 
can  its  secrets  be  revealed  to  embodied  beings,  except 
through  the  medium  of  images,  drawn  from  the  visible 
creation?  If  these  are  dealt  with  only  as  figures  of 
speech,  the  reality  of  things  spiritual  cannot  be  appre- 
ciated. When  men  hear  of  union  with  Christ,"  of 
His  being  "  present "  in  His  Church  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  that  Christians  are  risen  with  "  Him,  that  He 
must  be  "  formed "  within  them,  that  they  are  "  mem- 
bers of  His  Body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones  " — 
how  many  explain  away  these  wondrous  expressions, 
by  which  the  mystery  of  the  new  creation  is  set  forth, 
as  though  they  were  in  truth  flowers  of  rhetoric,  which 
mean  nothing?  They  had  rather  suppose  that  an 
Apostle  could  use  great  words,  which  himself  did  not 
comprehend,  than  beheve  that  God  can  do  great  things, 
which  pass  their  own  comprehension.  St.  Paul's  lan- 
guage they  attribute  to  a  temper,  which  loved  exag- 
gerated expressions,  because  their  own  temper  inclines 
them  to  deny  that  there  can  be  reality  in  the  mysteries 
of  God.  Such  an  error  should  be  carefully  avoided  in 
the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  We  must  find  some 
object  adequate  to  support  the  weight  of  those  fervent 
expressions,  in  which  the  Apostle  speaks  of  Predesti- 
nation, and  of  our  Election  in  Christ.  These  are  plainly 


286 


PREDESTINATION. 


no  trivial  blessings  :  they  must  make  some  momentous 
difference  in  the  condition  of  mankind,  and  be  worthy 
to  be  set  forth  as  among  the  great  gifts  of  the  Gospel. 
No  explanation  of  their  meaning  can  be  satisfactory, 
which  does  not  recognize  their  importance,  and  tally 
with  that  place  which  is  assigned  them  in  the  counsels 
of  God. 

And  here  then  we  must  turn  back  to  the  text.  What 
is  it  which  met  the  eyes  of  the  wondering  Seer,  to  whom 
the  mighty  vision  of  the  future  days  w^as  unfolded  ? 
While  he  was  instructed  respecting  the  temporal  for- 
tunes of  the  world,  while  the  transitory  forms  of  earthly 
power  passed  before  him  like  a  majestic  dream,  he  was 
admitted  also  to  the  sight  of  heavenly  objects,  and  a 
greater  than  the  empires  of  this  world  was  presented  to 
his  gaze.  "  In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God 
of  Heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed." Its  delegated  founder  was  to  be  the  heir  of 
humanity  itself,  "  one  like  the  Son  of  Man,"  who  was 
presented  before  "  the  Ancient  of  days,"  as  the  true  re- 
presentative of  His  creatures.  All  this  looks  to  some 
momentous  series  of  events,  whereby  the  collective  his- 
tory of  man's  race  was  deeply  affected.  The  dominion 
of  the  Son  of  Man,  the  "  Kingdom  of  God  "  is  exhibited 
as  truly  influencing  the  destiny  of  all  mankind,  and  as 
the  great  event  in  the  world's  history.  It  is  introduced 
as  consequent  on  those  achievements  by  which  the 
world's  temporal  condition  has  been  most  widely 
altered  :  but  these  are  supposed  to  be  of  inferior  mo- 
ment and  less  durable  effect.  "  His  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  and  His  kingdom  that  which  shall 
not  pass  away."    Let  us  consider,  then,  the  nature  of 


PREDESTINATION. 


287 


the  great  tiling^  which  was  thus  foreshown  in  the  coun- 
sels of  Gocl,  and  whether  it  was  not  an  adequate  object 
for  those  mighty  icords,  in  which  the  divine  doings  are 
expressed  by  the  Apostle. 

What  then  is  the  tJdng,  of  which  the  Apostle  wrote 
to  the  Christians  of  Rome,  as  being  "  the  powder  of  God 
unto  salvation  ?"  What  was  that  "  Kingdom  of  God," 
which  on  his  first  entrance  into  the  Capital  of  the 
world,  he  "  expounded  and  testified  both  out  of  the  law 
of  Moses,  and  out  of  the  Prophets,  from  morning  till 
evening  ?"  That  which  had  so  much  altered  the  situa- 
tion of  the  world,  which  formed  the  grand  era  in  its 
history,  was  the  introduction  of  the  system  of  Media- 
tion :  the  re-creation  of  humanity  in  Jesus  Christ." 
"  Circumcision  and  uncircumcision,"  the  old  distinctions 
between  the  favoured  and  unfavoured  nations,  "  availed 
no  more,  but  the  new  Creation  in  Jesus  Christ."  Now 
to  appreciate  this  new  system,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in 
mind  what  was  the  old  one,  in  which  man  had  pre- 
viously been  placed.  What  was  the  law  of  man's 
original  creation  ?  When  the  Almighty  had  built  up 
the  frame  of  this  wondrous  universe.  He  placed  a  crown 
upon  His  works,  by  giving  His  own  image  to  a  being, 
who  should  be  its  delegated  Lord.  "God  said,  let  us 
make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness;  and  let 
them  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the 
earth."  "  And  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto 
them,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth, 
and  subdue  it ;  and  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the 
sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living 
thing,  that  moveth  upon  the  earth."    This  was  the 


288 


PREDESTIXATIOX. 


charter  of  man's  inheritance :  thus  did  he  become  a  Ifi- 
crocosm^  a  little  universe,  because  the  Image  of  Him, 
by  whom  this  vast  universe  was  constructed.  And 
therefore  it  is  from  relation  to  this  parent  Being,  that 
all  those  excellencies  are  derived,  of  which  man  is  pos- 
sessed. AYhat  are  imagination,  genius,  taste,  but  a 
portion  of  that  inheritance,  which  was  bestowed  upon 
him,  because  he  was  by  nature  the  image  of  his  Crea- 
tor? Hence  the  feeling  that  our  minds  have  a  natural 
power  of  holding  intercourse  in  thought  with  their 
Maker — a  feeling  which  led  even  a  heathen  to  those 
words,  which  were  sanctioned  by  the  Apostle,  "  for  we 
are  also  His  offspring."  This  conviction,  by  which 
under  the  guidance  of  natural  piety  men  were  led  to 
address  themselves  in  prayer  to  their  invisible  Creator, 
was  not  man's  own  invention ;  it  was  the  relic  of  that 
real  intercourse,  of  which  man's  creation  in  his  Maker's 
image  was  the  cause.  Spirits  would  seem  to  have  a 
natural  relation  to  one  another :  certainly  such  a  rela- 
tion obtains  between  human  intelligence,  and  that 
Original  Intelligence,  who  is  the  parent  of  our  thoughts ; 
in  whom  "was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men." 

Such,  then,  was  man's  condition  by  nature.  And  if 
Adam  had  stood  fast  in  his  original  estate,  this  door  of 
nature  would  have  provided  immediate  access  to  God. 
The  creature  would,  no  doubt,  have  tended  more  and 
more  to  his  Creator.  But  when  this  access  was  lost  by 
man's  sin,  it  pleased  God  to  give  a  new  door  of  ap- 
proach. There  was  a  moment,  indeed,  when  man 
seemed  altogether  shut  out  from  his  Maker,  when  he 
hid  himself  from  God's  presence  in  the  midst  of  the 
trees  of  the  garden.    This  was  the  only  period  when 


PREDESTIXATION. 


289 


fallen  nature  was  altogether  unalle\dated  by  dhdne 
mercj' ;  and  had  this  period  continued,  the  race  of  man 
had  doubtless  perished  m  its  birth.  But  no  sooner  had 
man  fallen,  than  a  Second  Adam  was  promised;  a  new 
Head  to  man's  race ;  a  fresh  beginning  of  the  creation 
of  God."  On  Him  did  those  who  preceded  His  coming 
depend  in  expectation,  as  all  subsequent  generations 
have  built  their  hopes  upon  the  realit}^  of  His  presence. 
For  "  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent 
forth  His  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law, 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  Thus  was 
the  new  Adam  a  more  perfect  ^*  image  of  the  imdsible 
God,"  a  better  "  first-born  of  every  creature ;"  the  Vir- 
gin's Son  more  than  supplied  that  loss,  which  humanity 
had  received  through  the  first  Eve.  And  henceforth 
were  all  blessmgs  to  flow  into  manhood  through  this 
channel.  There  was  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus."  His  humanity  became 
the  new  fountain,  in  which  all  divine  gifts  were  gathered 
together ;  that  thence  they  might  flow  forth,  Hke  the 
rivers  of  Eden,  to  water  the  whole  earth.  As  all  na- 
ture, therefore,  was  gathered  together  in  the  first  man, 
so  all  grace  in  the  Second.  The  endowments  of  reason, 
the  properties  of  understanding  —  these  we  possess 
through  inherence  in  that  line  of  the  old  man,  of  whose 
organization  we  are  severally  types.  And  those  spi- 
ritual qualities,  the  possessions  of  our  higher  nature, 
are  in  like  manner  handed  do^vn  through  that  line  of 
the  New  Man,  which  is  the  basis  of  spiritual  life.  And 
as  the  law  of  carnal  propagation  is  our  mean  of  depend- 
ence on  the  one,  so  are  we  bound  to  the  other  by  that 
Sacramental  system,  through  which  the  humanity  of 


290 


PREDESTINATION. 


the  Incarnate  Son  transmits  itself  to  His  brethren.  For 
the  first  man  was  made  a  living  soul^  the  last  Adam 
is  made  a  quickening  spirit." 

Such,  then,  is  the  Thing  which  is  set  forth  as  the 
scheme  of  Mediation.  And  is  it  not  of  sufficient  mo- 
ment to  support  the  weight  of  the  Apostle's  words  ? 
Look  at  it  in  its  relation  to  the  Almighty.  Does  it  not 
display  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God  ?  If  the  old  creation  exhibited  them 
so  wonderfully,  are  they  not  still  more  manifest  in  the 
new  ?  If  to  create  a  world  was  great,  was  it  not  greater 
to  renew  it  ?  The  wonders  of  the  first  are  enlarged 
upon  in  the  divine  words  of  ancient  Scripture :  "  Where  ^ 
wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ? 
Declare  if  thou  hast  understanding.  Who  hath  laid 
the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest  ?  Or  who  hath 
stretched  the  line  upon  it  ?  Whereupon  are  the  foun- 
dations thereof  fastened,  or  who  laid  the  corner-stone 
thereof :  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ?"  And  still  more  must 
we  adore  the  Creator's  workmanship,  when  we  pass 
from  the  material  works  of  God  to  His  rational  crea- 
tures. For  take  all  the  attainments  of  human  genius 
— the  inspiration  of  the  poet,  the  profound  meditation 
of  the  philosopher,  the  artist's  conception  of  beauty,  the 
orator's  control  over  the  mind — are  not  these  all  ex- 
pressions of  that  original  constitution  of  nature,  which 
it  received  from  its  Maker's  hand  ?  Are  they  not  his 
workmanship,  who  "  set  the  world  in"  man's  "  heart  ?" 
Must  not  all,  therefore,  have  been  present  to  His  divine 
thought,  when  out  of  the  lifeless  clay  He  formed  this 


PREDESTIXATION. 


291 


image  of  Himself?  Do  they  not  declare  the  glory  of 
Him,  "  who  hath  put  wisdom  in  the  inward  parts,"  and 
"given  understanding  to  the  heart."  Now,  if  this 
natural  creation  manifested  His  glory,  is  it  not  still 
more  manifested  in  the  new  birth  of  the  Gospel?  If 
the  gifts  of  intellect  magnify  their  Author,  much  more 
the  gifts  of  grace.  The  kingdom  of  nature  has  its  mys- 
teries; its  deep  and  large  designs  call  forth  the  admira- 
tion of  earthly  spectators.  But  it  is  "  by  the  Church" 
that  "to  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places"  is  "  known  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."  These 
noblest  counsels  of  the  Almighty  depend  on  "the  eter- 
nal purpose  which  He  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  Our 
Lord."  If  His  wisdom  was  shown  in  Adam  His  dis- 
obedient creature,  much  more  in  that  "  well-beloved 
Son,  in  whom"  He  was  "  well  pleased."  As  the  policy 
of  those  who  have  reared  earthly  monarchies  has  been 
illustrated  by  the  success  of  their  designs,  as  worldly 
history  testifies  to  the  sagacity  of  those  who  founded 
the  commonwealth  of  Greece,  or  fostered  the  youthful 
ascendancy  of  Rome,  so  it  is  only  through  its  re-crea- 
tion in  Christ  Jesus  that  humanity  at  large  ceases  to  be 
an  enigma,  and  can  give  full  scope  to  the  endowments 
of  which  it  is  possessed.  Thus  only  is  the  end  of  man's 
being  accomplished.  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father 
of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ ;  accord- 
ing as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him,  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame 
before  Him  in  love :  having  predestinated  us  unto  the 
adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  accord- 


292 


PREDESTINATION. 


ing  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,  to  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  His  grace,  wherein  He  hath  made  us  accepted 
in  the  beloved." 

And  as  this  is  a  work  which  holds  a  great  place  in 
the  counsels  of  God,  so  if  we  look  to  the  condition  of 
man,  we  see  reason  enough  in  the  importance  attached 
to  it.  For  what  wider  diversity  is  there  in  the  condir 
tion  of  mortals,  than  that  some  of  them  are  appointed 
to  be  heirs,  while  others  remain  altogether  strangers  to 
that  covenant  of  grace,  which  has  been  bestowed  upon 
mankind  ?  No  doubt  both  in  the  one  case  and  the 
other,  men  will  be  judged  according  to  their  oppor- 
tunities :  the  Christian  will  have  a  stricter  account  to 
render,  for  "  to  whom  men  have  committed  much,  of 
him  they  will  ask  the  more."  But  his  position  is  plainly 
one  of  signal  advantage.  "  Prophets  and  kings,"  said 
Our  Lord,  "  have  desired  to  see  those  things,  which  ye 
see,  and  have  not  seen  them."  But  to  what  can  men 
attribute  such  distinction,  save  to  that  free  grace  of  God, 
which  worketh  according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own 
will?  What  else  gives  men  a  place  in  the  Church  of 
the  redeemed,  to  which  so  many  millions  of  mankind 
are  not  admitted  ?  To  be  born  of  a  royal  line  is  an 
earthly  distinction  :  it  is  described  usually  as  one  of 
those  gifts  of  fortune,  which  is  appointed  for  few;  but 
far  higher  is  the  privilege  of  that  divine  birthright,  to 
which  all  the  members  of  Christ  have  been  elected. 
For  why  did  not  their  birth  precede  that  re-creation  of 
man's  race,  of  which  the  Son  of  God  Himself  became 
the  model  and  Head  ?  Why  is  not  their  lot  cast  in 
those  populous  regions  of  the  earth,  where  no  Sacra- 
ments extend  the  line  of  His  renewed  race  ?    Are  not 


PREDESTINATION. 


293 


these  special  and  peculiar  gifts  of  election,  worthy  of  an 
especial  thankfulness  from  those  who  are  favoured  be- 
yond so  many  of  the  family  of  man?  We  may  well 
apply  the  words  of  Moses  to  the  members  of  the  spirit- 
ual Israel;  "ask  now  of  the  days  which  are  past, 
which  were  before  thee,  since  the  day  that  God 
created  man  upon  the  earth,  and  ask  from  one  side 
of  heaven  unto  the  other,  whether  there  hath  been  any 
such  thing  as  this  great  thing  is,  or  hath  been  heard 
like  it  ?"  "  Hath  God  essayed  to  go  take  Him  a  nation 
out  of  the  midst  of  another  nation — according  to  all  that 
the  Lord  your  God  did  for  you  before  your  eyes  ?" 
Surely  such  special  acts  of  mercy  deserve  that  special 
admiration,  with  which  the  Apostle  contemplates  the 
election  of  the  children  of  God.  For  this  is  a  favour, 
towards  which  no  effort  on  their  part  in  the  slightest 
degree  co-operates  :  the  gift  is  wholly  antecedent  to  their 
faith,  love,  obedience,  gratitude — in  the  great  mass  of 
men  who  are  elected  by  baptism  into  the  Church  of 
Christ,  their  will  is  not  required  even  to  consent  to  the 
deed  :  as  by  birth  they  were  children  of  the  old,  so  by 
new  birth  do  they  become  members  of  the  Second 
Adam  :  they  find  themselves  "  no  more  strangers  and 
foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God." 

These  mighty  results  of  election  into  Christ  are  in- 
finitely enhanced,  if  we  consider  how  it  operates  in 
respect  of  the  enemies  of  man's  safety.  Men  would 
appreciate  better  the  importance  of  that  new  creation 
in  Christ,  to  which  they  are  freely  chosen  through  ad- 
mission into  His  Body,  if  they  understood  those  dan- 
gers, by  which  they  are  still  hemmed  in,  and  that  power 


294 


PREDESTINATION. 


of  evil,  whioh  tliey  have  to  encounter.  Satan  and  his 
angels  are  no  unreal  foes ;  they  have  truly  power  to 
oppose  our  salvation :  the  world  of  evil  has  a  real  exist- 
ence, and  cannot  be  conquered  save  through  the  power 
of  the  cross.  For  to  what  do  men  trust,  that  they  have 
so  little  sense  of  the  perils  of  their  state  ?  Is  it  to  the 
freedom  of  their  will  ?  But  was  not  Adam  foiled  in  the 
perfecthess  of  his  innocence  ?  And  how  then  can  his 
weaker  children  expect  to  resist?  One  champion  only 
has  conquered  for  us,  as  well  as  Himself ;  we  must  be 
found  in  Him,  if  we  would  be  in  safety ;  we  must  par- 
take Plis  nature,  if  we  would  share  His  victory.  This 
is  the  very  hope  of  God's  calling,  "  which  He  wrought 
in  Christ,  when  He  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  and  set 
Him  at  His  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places," 
"  and  hath  put  all  things  under  His  feet,  and  gave  Him 
to  be  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His 
Body,  the  fullness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 

This  gift  then  we  cannot  estimate,  unless  we  appre- 
ciate our  danger.  The  enemies  of  our  souls  have  access 
to  the  house  of  our  life.  A  world  of  evil  is  arrayed 
against  us.  "  We  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places."  It  is  when  we  discern  this 
danger,  that  we  feel  how  great  is  the  blessedness  of  that 
safeguard,  which  the  great  Head  of  the  renewed  race 
extends  to  all  his  children.  "  My  Father  which  gave 
them  Me  is  greater  than  all,  and  no  man  is  able  to 
pluck  them  out  of  My  Father's  hand."  "  Fear  not  little 
flock,  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom."    Nothing,  then,  shows  more  clearly  how 


PREDESTINATION.  295 

suitable  are  those  earnest  words,  wherein  the  Apostle 
sets  forth  the  blessings  bestowed  on  God's  elected  people, 
than  the  external  dangers  against  which  they  find  a 
safeguard  in  the  presence  of  Him,  who  has  triumphed 
over  their  common  foe.  Did  He  wrestle  with  Satan  in 
the  days  of  His  humiliation?  Did  He  triumph  over 
that  enemy  in  the  wilderness,  at  the  garden,  and  on 
the  cross  ?  And  shall  He  not  prevail  likewise  in  all  His 
servants  ?  Shall  not  those  who  have  been  chosen  to 
be  members  of  Himself  be  kept  likewise  from  assaults, 
which  no  power  on  their  part  could  otherwise  resist  ? 
Thus  is  there  a  path  provided,  wherein  those  who  are 
joined  to  Christ,  may  follow  Him,  if  they  will,  from 
earth  to  heaven.  Their  course  is  guarded  through  the 
wilderness  of  this  world,  as  Israel's  of  old  through  the 
fiery  waste.  This  it  is  which  our  Article  expresses,  de- 
scribing the  safety  which  is  afforded  to  Christ's  servants, 
through  their  union  with  Him  in  whom  only  is  life.  It 
sots  forth  the  several  stages  of  man's  pilgrimage ;  the 
very  resting  place,  the  shelter,  the  guidance,  by  which 
only  he  can  accomplish  that  dangerous  march.  "  Pre- 
destination to  life  is  the  eternal  purpose  of  God,  where- 
by (before  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  laid)  He 
hath  constantly  decreed  by  His  counsel,  secret  to  us,  to 
deliver  from  curse  and  damnation  those  whom  He  hath 
chosen  in  Christ  out  of  mankind,  and  to  bring  them  hy 
Christ  to  everlasting  salvation,  as  vessels  made  to 
honour.  Wherefore  they  which  be  endued  with  so  ex- 
cellent a  benefit  of  God,  be  called  according  to  God's 
purpose  by  His  spirit  working  in  due  season:  they 
through  grace  obey  the  calling :  they  be  justified  freely  : 
they  be  made  sons  of  God  by  adoption :  they  be  made 


296 


PREDESTINATION. 


like  the  image  of  His  only  begotten  Son  Jesus  Christ : 
they  walk  religiously  in  good  works,  and  at  length  by 
God's  mercy  they  attain  to  everlasting  felicity."  Such 
is  the  glorious  course,  which  the  mercy  of  the  Most 
Highest  has  provided  for  those  who  "  go  from  strength 
to  strength  ;"  who  in  their  journey  draw  water  out  of 
the  wells  of  salvation,  till  before  the  God  of  gods  they 
appear  in  Zion.  This  is  the  pre  destined  or  pre-ap- 
pointed  path  from  the  Egypt  of  this  world  to  the  Canaan 
of  rest.  This  is  the  road  along  which  all  God's  people 
must  travel.  To  be  in  Christ  is  their  security.  Thus 
are  they  guarded  against  the  perils  of  the  waste.  Its 
fiery  serpents  shall  not  bite,  its  drought  appal,  its  heat 
oppress  them.  This  road  has  God  Himself  prepared 
for  their  safety. 

And  is  not  the  blessing  which  is  thus  provided  suf- 
ficient to  support  the  weight  of  the  Apostle's  words  ? 
The  object  of  God's  foreknowledge  is  the  journey  of  His 
servants  along  that  narrow  way  which  He  has  appointed 
as  the  path  to  glory.  Against  its  dangers  He  has  pre- 
ordained one  especial  means  of  safety — to  be  members 
in  that  mystic  Body,  which  is  partaker  of  the  hallowed 
nature  of  His  Incarnate  Son.  Into  this  blessed  Unity 
His  own  merciful  goodness  elects  mankind.  Thus  do 
they  become  "  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God."  For  this  is  God's  host :  His  Church 
and  family :  the  great  company  of  those  who  travel  to 
Zion.  No  doubt  there  are  single  pilgrims,  who  are 
aided  by  the  mercy  of  their  heavenly  King;  but  His 
especial  pre-appointment  respects  that  new  Israel,  which 
a  greater  than  Moses  is  leading  to  the  heavenly  Canaan. 
The  choice  and  will  of  all  men  lay  open  from  everlast- 


PEEt)ESTIXATIOX. 


297 


ing  to  His  infinite  knowledge,  but  His  puqDose  and 
ordination  concerned  that  Gospel  kingdom,  into  Tvliich 
men  are  admitted  bj  actual  union  with  the  Son  of  His 
love.    "  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  He  also  did  predesti- 
nate to  be  conformed  to  the  likeness  of  His  Son,  that 
He  might  be  the  first-bom  among  many  brethren."  It 
is  the  Head,  therefore,  and  heir  of  humanity,  who  is 
the  true  object  of  the  predestination  of  God.  For  Him 
it  is  that  a  kingdom  is  ajopointed.  He  is  that  "  Son  of 
Man,"  who  was  "  brou2:ht  near  to  the  Ancient  of  davs  " 
when  dominion  and  glory  was  pre-ordained  for  Him. 
And  the  predestination  of  His  brethren,  like  their  other 
gifts,  they  share  only  as  they  are  one  with  Him.  They 
partake  of  the  privilege  of  the  race,  in  that  they  are 
admitted  to  partnership  with  their  Elder  Brother.  As 
God  gave  mankind  dominion  over  this  lower  world, 
when  He  gave  to  Adam  empire  over  the  beasts,  so  He 
gave  His  ser^^ants  safety  from  the  powers  of  ill,  when 
He  assigned  a  spiritual  empire  to  the  Second  Adam. 
Thus  is  the  race  looked  at  in  its  Head.    Its  safety  is 
ascertained  by  His  ascendancy.    Its  permanence  is  se- 
cured by  His  perpetual  presence.    Alreadj^  is  it  looked' 
at  as  holy,  because  found  in  Him.    Thus  is  the  new 
Isriiel  admitted  to  that  favour,  of  which  their  earthly 
forefathers  were  typically  possessed.    Because  they  are 
looked  at  in  their  Head,  "  He  hath  not  beheld  iniquity 
in  Jacob,  neither  hath  He  seen  perverseness  in  Israel." 
Already,  therefore,  is  the  Church  exalted  in  its  Lord. 
God  "  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  to- 
gether in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus."  Ah-eady 
is  it  "the  holy  Church,"  because  the  ointment  which 

was  poured  upon  its  Head,  has  flowed  down  even  to 

20 


298 


PREDESTINATION. 


its  lowest  members.  And  as  these  signs  of  grace  and 
glory,  so  too  the  predestined  design  which  contemplated 
His  exaltation  must  needs  be  partaken  by  all  His  mem- 
bers. And  this  is  the  true  predestination  of  God's 
people.  It  embraces  the  whole  family  of  the  redeemed, 
because  its  object  is  that  Head,  from  whom  they  cannot 
be  dissevered.  Its  law  is  their  inherence  in  His  mystic 
Body.  It  was  recognized,  finally,  in  those  wondrous 
words  which  in  the  last  hours  of  His  humiliation  He 
addressed  to  the  Father :  "  Father,  I  will  that  they  also, 
whom  Thou  hast  given  Me  be  with  Me  where  I  am : 
that  they  may  behold  My  glory,  which  Thou  hast  given 
Me  :  for  Thou  lovedst  Me  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world." 

The  statements  which  have  been  made  will  lead  us 
to  two  conclusions — first,  how  the  responsibility  of  man 
can  be  combined  with  God's  predestination ;  secondly, 
by  what  means  due  weight  can  be  attached  to  the 
Scriptural  notices  of  this  important  subject. 

Yirst — The  responsibility  of  man  depends,  of  course, 
on  his  personal  existence ;  but  the  promises  of  God  refer 
to  the  re-creation  of  his  common  nature,  which  was 
wrought  by  the  Incarnation  of  Christ.  For  man  con- 
sists of  two  main  parts;  the  one  his  individual  being, 
with  which  Will  and  Consciousness  are  intimately  asso- 
ciated, and  in  which  lies  his  personal  responsibility;  the 
other  those  general  powers  and  qualities,  which  he  in- 
herits from  his  kind.  Now,  though  the  gift  of  grace 
extends  to  the  modifying  of  the  will,  yet  it  was  more 
especially  this  common  nature  which  was  re-created  in 
Christ.  And  it  was  the  renewal  of  this  general  line  of 
humanity,  which  was  pre-determined  by  the  special 


PREDESTIXATIOX. 


299 


appointment  of  the  Almighty.  The  predestinating  de- 
cree of  God  was  that  the  line  of  Adam  should  be  re- 
newed in  Christ.  It  extends  itself  to  all  men,  so  far  as 
the}'  partake  of  that  new  nature  which  was  thus  intro- 
duced into  the  world ;  just  as  all  men  by  inheritance 
from  the  first  Adam  are  subject  to  the  natural  Provi- 
dence of  God.  But  as  the  decrees  of  nature  leave  that 
responsibility  untouched,  to  which  man's  consciousness 
witnesses,  so  likewise  do  the  decrees  of  grace.  If  Adam's 
nature  had  been  handed  down  in  greater  purity,  the 
responsibility  of  individuals  would  still  have  existed, 
though  a  different  field  would  have  been  afforded  for 
its  actions.  And  so  is  it  under  that  Gospel  system, 
which  is  founded  on  the  Mediation  of  Christ.  The 
gifts  of  grace  have  exalted  the  nature  of  man,  but  not 
extinguished  his  personaUty:  they  have  altered  his 
op23ort unities,  but  left  his  responsibility  untouched. 

Again,  we  ma}^  see  how  due  weight  is  to  be  assigned 
to  those  statements  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  treat  of 
the  benefits  bestowed  by  Predestination,  and  of  the 
blessedness  of  the  elect.  The  true  mamier  of  doing 
justice  to  such  expressions,  is  to  attach  adequate  im- 
portance to  the  re-creation  of  man's  nature  in  Christ. 
The  words  of  Scripture  will  never  be  undervalued,  so 
long  as  the  tiling  which  God  mercifully  effected  through 
the  Mediation  of  Christ,  is  properly  ajopreciated.  If 
men  believe  that  the  Une  of  Adam  was  renewed  in 
Christ,  that  a  higher  nature  was  introduced  into  the 
world,  that  the  being  of  God's  intelligent  creatures  was 
re-constructed,  that  all  blessings  flow  into  the  redeemed 
family  through  inherence  in  the  Head  and  founder  of 
their  race — they  cannot  suppose  that  the  words  in 


300 


PREDESTINATION. 


wliich  this  change  is  expressed  are  exaggerated,  because 
no  words  can  exaggerate  a  change,  which  the  very  con- 
ception of  mortals  is  not  competent  to  grasp.  What 
may  be  appointed  for  others  it  is  not  needful  to  ask,  or 
how  He  who  is  just  as  well  as  holy,  will  deal  with  those 
whose  opportunities  are  different,  and  their  law  diverse. 
But  we  cannot  over-estimate  the  importance  of  that 
change,  wdiich  has  made  the  one  main  alteration  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  We  are  assured  that  not  the 
greatest  of  those  who  were  born  of  women,  is  equal  in 
privilege  to  the  least  member  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
To  forget  this  distinction  then  is  to  fall  into  inevitable 
confusion,  because  it  is  to  lose  the  clue,  which  guides 
us  in  unravelling  man's  whole  history. 

And  hence  it  may  be  understood  how  men,  who 
called  themselves  Ciiristians,  could  fall  into  so  fatal  an 
error  as  to  deny  that  responsibility,  to  which  their  own 
consciousness  could  not  choose  but  witness.  It  was 
surely  a  strange  boldness  that  men  should  despise  at 
once  this  individual  witness,  and  also  that  consentient 
testimony  which  the  voice  of  fifteen  centuries  declared 
itself  to  have  received  from  the  Apostles.  If  men 
trusted  to  God's  voice  speaking  in  themselves,  did  it 
not  witness  to  their  own  accountableness ;  if  they  trusted 
to  the  same  voice  speaking  through  others,  how  could 
they  be  indifferent  to  what  all  Christians  attested  to  be 
the  recorded  mind  of  the  Spirit?  It  is  not  a  sufficient 
explanation  of  this  phenomenon  to  refer  it  to  the  rash- 
ness and  irreverence  of  an  individual  innovator.  There 
must  have  been  something  in  the  temper  of  the  age, 
which  prepared  men  to  receive  Calvin's  words.  And 
such  there  plainly  was.    In  the  convulsive  moments  of 


at 


PREDESTINATION.  301 

tliat  great  crisis,  men  were  looking  round  for  some  fresh 
basis,  on  which  to  found  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel ; 
they  were  impatient  for  a  new  law  of  Church  union, 
and  for  a  communion  which  should  be  independent  of 
Sacramental  oneness  with  the  Body  of  Christ.  Such 
they  fancied  themselves  to  have  found.    The  events 
which  followed  have  sufficiently  proved  the  vanity  of 
their  thought ;  it  is  now  seen  that  those  who  reject  the 
appointed  means  of  oneness  with  Christ,  will  soon  cast 
off  all  dependence  on  His  Mediation.    The  followers  of 
Calvin,  in  every  case  in  which  the  development  of  their 
principles  has  been  unchecked,  have  moved  forward 
into  the  more  consistent  heresy  of  Socinus.    But  it  was 
not  the  intention  of  the  Genevese  Keformers  to  deny 
Christ's  work,  or  to  undervalue  the  election  of  His  ser- 
vants.   What  means  remained  open  to  them,  by  which 
to  explain  the  law  of  God's  predestination  ?  Since  they 
w^ould  not  recognize  the  importance  of  those  common 
blessings  which  are  bestowed  through  membership  in 
the  Church  of  Christ,  they  were  compelled  to  transfer 
the  Apostle's  words  to  the  individual  condition  of  man- 
kind.   Man's  separate  responsibility  was  crushed  under 
the  weight  of  those  expressions,  which  were  designed 
to  set  forth  God's  great  work  in  the  pre-aj)pointment  of 
His  Church,  and  the  consecration  of  its  Head.  Such 
were  the  effects  of  rejecting  what  is  plainly  spoken  re- 
specting the  common  union  of  the  family  of  Christ,  and 
of  their  real  oneness  with  their  Incarnate  Lord.  And 
as  this  was  the  cause  of  error,  so  must  the  contrary 
course  be  its  remedy.    Would  we  appreciate  and  do 
justice  to  these  lofty  words?    Would  we  reverence  duly 


302 


PREDESTINATION. 


the  predestination  of  God^  and  be  thankful  for  our  elec- 
tion in  Christ  Jesus — then  must  we  appreciate  the  im- 
port of  the  Church's  blessings,  and  know  the  value  of 
being  members  in  our  risen  Lord.  Let  communion 
with  Christ  be  felt  to  be  a  real  gift,  let  our  inherence 
in  His  Body  be  accepted  as  a  true  oneness,  let  the  re- 
creation of  man's  race  be  allowed  to  have  been  in  deed, 
and  not  only  in  figure,  effected  by  the  coming  of  the 
Second  Adam,  and  that  course  of  blessings,  which  is 
consequent  on  these  mighty  facts,  will  most  naturally 
be  expressed  in  lofty  words.  Has  man's  race  been  truly 
born  anew  in  its  Head  ?  Is  this  new  creation  truly  ex- 
tended through  the  ordinances  of  grace  to  His  earthly 
members  ?  Have  all  Christians  such  a  glorious  heritage 
for  which  to  account  ?  Are  they  guarded  by  such  an 
unseen  helper  against  the  foes  which  encircle  their  path  ? 
Can  they  seek  for  help  against  their  own  weakness? 
Is  this  law  fated  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world  ? 
May  all  take  advantage  of  it  ?  Will  God  be  always  on 
our  side,  so  long  as  we  are  found  in  Christ  ?  And  is 
there  not  ground  then  to  exclaim,  in  the  earnest  words 
of  the  great  Apostle,  "  we  know  that  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  to  them  who 
are  the  called  according  to  His  purpose.  For  whom 
He  did  foreknow.  He  also  did  predestinate  to  be  con- 
formed to  the  image  of  His  Son,  that  He  might  be  the 
first-born  among  many  brethren.  Moreover  whom  He 
did  predestinate,  them  He  also  called ;  and  whom  He 
called,  them  He  also  justified ;  and  whom  He  justified, 
them  He  also  glorified.  What  shall  we  then  say  to 
these  things  ?    If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against 


PREDESTINATION-.  303 

US  ?"  "  For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death;,  nor 
life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
dej^th,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord." 


BOOKS  OF  THE  CHURdH  AND  FOR  THE  CHURCH; 

PUBLISHED  BY  H.  HOOKER. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  INCARNATION,  Viewed  in  its  Re- 
lation  to  Mankind  and  tlie  Clmrcli,  by  Archdeacon  Wilberforce. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  HOLY  BAPTISM;  by  Archdeacon  Wil- 
berforce. 

SERMONS  ON  THE  NEW  BIRTH  OF  MAN'S  NATURE ;  by 
Archdeacon  Wilberforce. 

SAYINGS  OF  THE  GREAT  FORTY  DAYS,  Contemplated  as  the 
Outlines  of  the  Kingdom  of  God;  by  Rev.  George  Moberly, 
D.  C.  L. 

CHRIST  THE  DESIRE  OF  ALL  NATIONS;  or.  The  Unconscious 
Prophecies  of  Heathendom ;  by  Richard  C.  Trench. 

LAST  ENEMY,  Conquering  and  Conquered ;  by  Right.  Rev.  George 
Burgess. 

LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  THE  REY.  HENRY  VENN;  first 
American,  from  the  last  London  Edition. 

THE  THIRTY-NINE  ARTICLES  OF  THE  CHURCH;  Illus- 
trated with  Proofs  from  the  Scriptures,  and  the  Primitive  Church, 
by  E.  Bickersteth,  M.  A.,  Curate  of  Holy  Cross  and  St.  Giles. 

THE  STAR  OF  THE  WISE  MEN ;  being  an  Exposition  of  the 
Second  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  by  Richard  Chenevix  Trench. 

In  Press  by  H.  Hooker, 

THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE,  a  Treatise  upon 

Moral  Philosophy  and  Practice,  by  William  Adams,  S.  T.  P., 

Presbyter  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

"  All  things  are  double  one  against  another,  and  God  hath  made 
nothing  imperfect." — Jesus,  Son  or  Sirach. 

Man's  perfection  is  not  by  himself,  nor  by  anything  in  or  of  him- 
self, but  by  that  which  is  to  him  external." 

This  work  will  comprise  about  400  octavo  pages,  and  be  ready  in 
a  few  weeks. 


mwm  I 

'    '^'^01197  2033  I 


Date  Due 

 : — ' — r. — 

OCT  27  ITl 

MOV  29  71 

MAR    8  71 

APR 

